Brandon Roybal has shown he remains worthy of attention as one of Ultimate Fighting Championship’s elite flyweight divisions.
The resilient Factory , and used his seemingly endless gas tank to survive. All three justice officials came up with a 48-47 scorecard: Sal D’Amato for Taira, Chris Lee and Ron McCarthy for Roybal.
Taira (16-1, 6-1 UFC) excelled in his grappling battles throughout the four rounds, repeatedly moving backwards, securing position with body triangles, and adding ground and pound to the neck. threatened. Roybal (17-7, 7-3 UFC) answered with his feet, using surgical combinations and the occasional knee. Early in the third round, he had Taira on the ropes and volleyed two, three, and four punches straight into Taira’s head. The Shooto champion took advantage of an ill-advised armbar attempt late in the period, transitioning to the back and completing the pass with a rear-naked choke. Going into the fifth round, the result is still very much in doubt. There, Roybal sliced his opponent apart with punches, used a guillotine choke, rolled into mount, and eventually scrambled backwards. I kept trying chokes and cranks until the horn sounded.
Roybal heads into his next assignment having won five of his past six races.
Meanwhile, Park Joon-young of South Korea’s Top Team was awarded a split verdict in the third round of the middleweight co-main event, wearing down “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 semifinalist Brad Tavares with relentless pressure and high output. , finally broke. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28. Tavares was Junichiro Kamijo, Park was Michael Bell and Eric Colon.
Tavares (20-10, 15-10 UFC) defeated the Korean in the first round with some sharp one-twos and swarmed him for a possible finish. That never happened. Park (18-6, 8-3 UFC) recovered and advanced with punching volleys, followed by a series of kicks to the Hawaiian’s lower lead leg. Tavares conceded a takedown midway through the third round and remained on the canvas for more than three minutes, taking punches and watching the precious minutes tick by, leaving his fate in the hands of the scorecards.
Park, 33, played in six games and won five.
Further into the main draw, former Tachi Palace Fights titleholder Chidi Njokuani brutalized Jared Gooden in the clinch ahead of a lopsided unanimous decision in a three-round welterweight bout. Njokuani (24-10, 4-3 UFC) dominated the scorecards, earning a 30-27 mark from all three cageside judges.
Gooden (23-10, 2-5 UFC), who lost 1.5 pounds heading into the fight, had little in terms of meaningful offense. Njokuani dissected him at close range, hitting him in the torso with a knee and knocking him off the head with a short elbow. At times, Gooden seemed content to be beaten for 15 minutes. After a failed takedown attempt from the X3 Sports rep in the third round, Njokuani forced himself into full mount, freed himself from the kimura, and delivered a flurry of punches and elbows that put an end to his performance. I hit it.
Njokuani, 35, has won back-to-back matches for the first time since 2022.
Elsewhere, American Top Team’s Grant Dawson defeated former Combate Global Champion Rafa Garcia with ferocious ground and pound in the second round of the lightweight attraction. Dawson (22-2-1 UFC, 10-1-1), who was in good form, drew the curtain on Round 2 at 1:42.
Garcia (16-4, 4-4 UFC) was unable to get back on his feet and paid a high price as a result. Dawson scored a takedown in the first round and landed a flurry of hammerfists, elbows and punches. It was a harbinger of things to come. He took down Garcia within a minute of the second period, slicing a nasty gash on his forehead with a perfect elbow. Blood spurted from the wound, giving Dawson permission to increase the intensity of his blows. Despite repeated elbow strikes, the punches continued to go unresponsive, prompting the end of the match.
Dawson, 30, has won five of his past six fights.
Finally, Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus Daniel Rodriguez raised his hand for the first time in over two years, defeating Alex Morono by split decision in three rounds in the welterweight entree. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: D’Amato for Morono, Bell and Adalide Bird for Rodriguez.
Morono (24-11 KOs, 13-8 UFC) led the dance for most of the first five minutes. The Fortis MMA rep fought back effectively, weaving in some kicks and connecting with multiple looping overhand rights. Rodriguez (18-5, 8-4 UFC) picked up the pace in the middle and looked for openings at every level, targeting the body, head and legs. Suddenly, the momentum was his. “D-Rod” staggered Morono in the third round with a clean one-two, chipped away with body and head combinations, excelled in the clinch, and secured a late takedown to punctuate his performance.
With this win, Rodriguez’s losing streak ended at three.
