"It did something weird” - Brandon Royval reveals knee injury he sustained after throwing his first kick against Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City
Brandon Royval took a giant step closer to securing another flyweight title shot with a superb performance against former champion Brandon Moreno.
The pair faced off in the main event of UFC Mexico City, with Moreno's original opponent, Amir Albazi, withdrawing from the bout last month.
In the opening minutes of Round 1, Royval could be seen assessing his left leg after throwing a kick. It appeared as though the American had injured his ankle. But following the bout, he shared details of the incident and revealed that he had damaged his knee.
After suffering a shoulder injury during his first fight with 'The Assassin Baby', the 31-year-old admitted that he thought he might once again be succumbing to an injury.
Following his stellar showing against Moreno, the former title challenger was interviewed by ESPN MMA, where he shared details of his knee injury. He said this:
"I don't know what happened, but I missed a kick right away and my knee popped, it did something weird. I couldn't put weight on it, and right off the bat I'm like, 'I don't know what it is about this kid, but I break. I'm breaking.' I'm happy I could push through..."
'Raw Dawg' continued
"It was the scariest thing ever. My whole gameplan was to kick Moreno, Moreno is pretty heavy on his feet... My whole gameplan is to land kicks, and within a minute my whole gameplan almost went out the window."
Watch Brandon Royval's interview below from 1:50:
Dana White shares thoughts on Brandon Royval's victory over Brandon Moreno
UFC Mexico City was headlined by a flyweight banger between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval.
Their bout did not disappoint, as they went to war for all five rounds, with 'Raw Dawg' walking away with a split-decision (48-48, 46-49,48-47) victory.
When Bruce Buffer was reading the final scorecard and announcing the winner, Royval thought he had been robbed of the win. According to the American, he only realized he had won the bout after his coaches began celebrating.
UFC CEO Dana White appeared in front of the media following the event, where he shared his thoughts on the main event. He said this:
"Royval brought it. He fought hard, I thought he won the fight. It looked like [Brandon Moreno] didn't think he lost, when it was announced. But pretty much everybody I talked to, that's with me, thought that Royval won."
Watch Dana White review Brandon Royval's win below: