UFC 329 results: Brandon Royval submits Lone'er Kavanagh to end wild 3-round war

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It keeps happening with Brandon Royval.

The veteran flyweight has never reached the top of the UFC mountain, but he has a habit of making everyone around him in the top group of contenders go through absolute wars. The latest entrant was Lone'er Kavanagh, and it did not go well for the rising star.

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With 1:20 left in the fight, Royval finished off a three-round slugfest with a rear-naked choke submission to break a rut of back-to-back losses. He proceeded to praise Kavanagh as a "future champion," then demanded a bonus for them both.

Royval (18-9), who also identified himself as a "master of chaos," opened the fight by winning a competitive first round on all three scorecards. The second round went less well, as Kavanagh (10-1) leveled him with a hard right counter.

It was a wonder that Royval got back up.

Even with Royval on the ground, Kavanagh couldn't finish him off. He wound up regretting that when the roles reversed in the third round. Royval got wobbled early, but did enough damage that he was likely headed toward a win on the scorecards before making them a moot point.

It was a fitting performance for a man who picked up "Fight of the Year" honors at the World MMA Awards for his 2025 loss to Joshua Van only a few days ago.

Considering his previous back-to-back losses to Tatsuro Taira and Manel Kape, Royval won't be challenging for a title next. He called out Asu Almabayev, respectfully, for what could be another wild matchup.

As for Kavanagh, it's back to reality after his stunning win over Brandon Moreno earlier this year. That upset is now flanked by losses on either side, having lost to Charles Johnson in his prior fight. The Englishman is still only 27 years old, but Saturday leaves him with work to do before he can be considered a true contender.

Check out complete UFC 329 results, highlights and round-by-round updates here.

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