"He tapped!" - MMA fighters and fans react after Rogerio Bontorin seemingly tapped to Brandon Royval's armbar attempt

Brandon Royval vs. Rogerio Bontorin [Photos via @ufc on Instagram]

The flyweight clash between Brandon Royval and Rogerio Bontorin was riddled with controversy after two anomalous incidents left fans scratching their heads.

Royval snapped his two-fight losing skid after earning a narrow split decision victory over Bontorin on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze. Two judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Royval to help him secure the win, while the third judge turned in a 29-28 score for Bontorin.

Raw Dawg at it again! 🐶

@BrandonRoyval keeping his name in the mix at flyweight! #UFCVegas46 https://t.co/S3X00m9vlJ

Many believed that Bontorin, who did a tremendous job closing the distance early and then bringing Royval down to the ground, should've gotten the nod. However, there were also some who were convinced Royval was the rightful winner as Bontorin seemingly tapped when 'Raw Dawg' caught him with an armbar in round three.

Was that a tap?! 🧐

Potential controversy from the APEX as this flyweight tilt rages on! #UFCVegas46 https://t.co/lrn8Wb4g49

Needless to say, the flyweight bout was met with mixed reviews. Here's how MMA Twitter reacted to the controversy that was Royval vs. Bontorin.

MMA Fighters react to Brandon Royval vs. Rogerio Bontorin

Angela Hill was convinced that Bontorin tapped out. 'Overkill' hopped on Twitter to chime in with her thoughts shortly after Bontorin gave Royval's leg a single tap. The 37-year-old strawweight wrote:

He tapped!!

Meanwhile, rising middleweight contender Sean Brady was unsure whether he saw Bontorin tap. The No.9 ranked 185-pounder took to social media in search of answers.

Did he tap ??? #ufcvegas46

Referee Mark Smith didn't appear to be bothered by Bontorin's gesture as he allowed the action to continue. That's something former UFC strawweight Pearl Gonzalez disagrees with.

He fn tapped lol

Media members react to Brandon Royval vs. Rogerio Bontorin

Luke Thomas of Morning Kombat appears to be confused by the sequence. The MMA analyst asked his followers to give him reasons to believe Bontorin didn't tap out. However, fellow sports writer Rory R immediately confirmed he thought it was a tap.

Talk me out of thinking this should constitute tapping. twitter.com/jedigoodman/st…

@lthomasnews No thanks Luke. He tapped.

MMA journalist John Hyon Ko also chimed in with a proposition. He thinks that if Bontorin's alleged tap warrants an instant replay to be reviewed.

Does this justify a replay? #UFCVegas46 twitter.com/jedigoodman/st…

Meanwhile, Nolan King of MMA Junkie made a joke about Royval winning twice in one night. 'Raw Dawg' took home a unanimous decision and seemingly submitted his opponent.