Brandon Royval weighs in on former opponent Kai Kara-France's bid for a title shot

Brandon Royval vs, Kai Kara-France [Photo via @ufc on Twitter]

Brandon Royval is in favor of his former opponent and rising star Kai Kara-France getting a title shot.

Royval caught up with James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA ahead of his upcoming bout at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze. During the interview, the 29-year-old weighed in on the possibility of Kara-France getting a title opportunity ahead of him. The Denver native said:

"Yeah man, I'm not close to the title right now. I need to have some success for myself. As far as him [Kara-France] getting a title shot, I don't really care, man. I hope he does, I hope he gets a nice little knockout that makes me look good, man. It boosts my rating up, my rankings up, that'll be sweet. But I know I have to win a couple before I do anything. So, I wouldn't mind it. F*** it, give him a title shot."

Check out our exclusive interview with Brandon Royval below:

Royval, of course, had a firsthand encounter with Kara-France at UFC 253 in 2020. Appearing for only the second time in the octagon, Royval pulled off an upset when he managed to choke out Kara-France in the second round of their flyweight showdown.

THIS IS MADNESS 🤯

@brandonroyval x @kaikarafrance at #UFC253 ▶️ ES.PN/UFC253TW https://t.co/kqnLVWOPyb

However, Royval has since suffered back-to-back losses against future champion Brandon Moreno and top contender Alexandre Pantoja. On the flipside, Kara-France bounced back with consecutive knockout victories over Rogerio Bontorin and Cody Garbrandt.

Brandon Royval says he wasn't surprised with Kai Kara-France's victory at UFC 269

Brandon Royval also claimed that he always recognized Kai Kara-France as someone who can compete at the highest level. Royval claimed he wasn't surprised the Kiwi fighter was able to get the job done against former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.

KAI KARA-FRANCE SHOWING NO. LOVE. WOW!!!!!!!!!

🇳🇿 @KaiKaraFrance JUST DID THAT! #UFC269 https://t.co/sAzLzJoKEF

Brandon Royval said:

"I knew France was capable and I know Garbrandt kind of puts himself in a position on his feet, where Kai Kara-France doesn't. Kai Kara-France is very like... everywhere he steps is really smart, you know. And he puts some thought into good angles. I knew if Cody Garbrandt wasn't careful, he was going to get knocked. So I wasn't sure how it was going to play out, but I knew Kai-Kara France was able to stop that fight."

Royval will look to return to the winning column when he returns to action in the first UFC event of 2022. He will face Brazilian Rogerio Bontorin this Saturday.

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