Breaking: Much anticipated flyweight bout between Askar Askarov and Brandon Royval removed from UFC Vegas 62 card after Askarov fails to make weight
UFC flyweight Brandon Royval has appeared to have confirmed his flyweight bout against Askar Askarov is off after the Russian failed to make weight for their UFC Vegas 62 clash this weekend.
The No.5-ranked Royval has taken to Instagram to express his disappointment that his opponent has failed to make the weight cut. The bout was set to pit the No.4 and No.5-ranked flyweights against one another, with both fighters chasing a first shot at the 125lbs title.
Royval is on a two-fight winning run with his latest performance earning him a Fight of the Night bonus against Matt Schnell at UFC 274. The 30-year-old wrote:
"Woke up at 127… before I started the weight cut I heard my opponents not going to make weight. They turned down a catch weight, so it looks like the fight is off. Heartbroken but thank you @tylermintonnutrition for another easy weight cut. we stay professional on our end."
Brandon Royval v Askar Askarov is OFF at #UFCVegas62 https://t.co/RKASBgEjiY
The UFC is yet to comment on the situation but fighters and fans have been left disappointed by the breaking news.
Brandon Royval not interested in fourth fight between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno
Flyweight contender Brandon Royval has labeled the upcoming flyweight title bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno a robbery as he believes Alexandre Pantoja is deserving of a title shot.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Royval admitted he isn't bothered about the tetralogy between 'Figgy' and 'The Assassin baby' and would like to see a deserving fighter such as Pantoja given a chance:
"It's a great fight, but I mean, not really. I don't want to see them fight four times. I think Pantoja's obviously earned that title shot. I think Pantoja kind of got ripped off when they gave Kai Kara-France the title shot... The interim title shot made no sense to me in general anyways. 'Cause it's like why are we doing this?"
Catch the full interview with Brandon Royval here: