Brandon Royval is sitting in a great spot forward of his UFC Vegas 98 major occasion tomorrow night time (Oct. 12, 2024) reverse undefeated Japanese prospect Tatsuro Taira.
Earlier this 12 months, Royval picked up the most effective win of his profession by decisioning former champion Brandon Moreno, night their rivalry at one victory a chunk. That win shot him as much as the No. 1 spot within the Flyweight rankings. Even already having a pair of defeats to the present champion Alexandre Pantoja, “Uncooked Canine” isn’t terribly far off from one other title shot.
Due to that leverage, Royval is ready to decide and select his match ups a bit. One potential match up was latest signee and former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura, essentially the most thrilling Flyweight signing in recent times. Royval vs. Asakura would’ve been an incredible match up, however Royval just lately revealed that it will have been too pricy and too dangerous to battle Asakura in Australia with no pay bump.
“Kai Asakura is sick, and that battle will get me off the bed,” Royval instructed MMAFighting (by way of BloodyElbow) “… I wish to battle for a f—king belt and it’s like in the event that they wish to hype up Kai Asakura then I wish to take that [too]. They supplied me that battle in Australia. I requested for extra money and a bunch of stuff, they stated no after which I requested them for certainly one of any of these issues, and so they stated no. I used to be like ‘All proper, nicely I’m not going to go f—king battle some dude who’s not within the UFC for not a lot cash.’”
For fighters who reside exterior of Oceania, Australia is a tricky promote as a result of the taxes are a lot increased than US-based athletes are accustomed to paying. Simply final week, Sean Strickland supplied his personal tirade about not eager to battle Dricus Du Plessis in “The Land Down Below” for related causes — it’s costly!
In basic “Rawdog” trend, Royval defined his personal reasoning by evaluating himself to a prostitute.
“Dude, I consider myself as a prostitute for certain; like I’m placing my physique on the road for cash … However it’s like at this level, I f—king earned my primary spot, I fought my ass off and I’m primary on this planet. I’m an costly prostitute, I’m not an affordable ass prostitute … I’m not simply promoting my physique to anyone who will take it, I acquired a worth on me – I’m not simply anyone.”
In the intervening time, Asakura’s UFC debut has but to be introduced. It’s broadly rumored that he’ll face Pantoja for the title, however all that is still to be seen.
