Brandon Royval is one of the best fighters on the UFC’s flyweight roster. Having accumulated a respectable record, he is now seen as one of the most skilled fighters in his division. As such, fans will be tempted to know much more about the electric fighter.
For the most part, Royval made a name for himself after besting Kai Kara-France at UFC 253. In what was an entertaining back-and-forth, he displayed reckless abandon for his safety, going all out ‘swangin and bangin’. Eventually, Royval managed to isolate the Kiwi and lock in the Guillotine Choke for the win.
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Whilst the win effectively put him on the map, Brandon has since followed it up with more awesome performances. During his time in the UFC, Royval has also collected big wins over the likes of Tim Elliot, Rogerio Bontorin, Matt Schnell, and Matheus Nicolau. Notably, his performances have also garnered him a lot of praise from the fans and UFC President Dana White as well.
To date, the 31-year-old has only lost two fights in the UFC: Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja. As for the Moreno fight at UFC 255, Royval suffered a dislocated shoulder, thus losing the fight. For his next loss, he was submitted by Pantoja after a frantic scramble. Despite this, he can be extremely proud that he only lost to the current and former champions.
Why is Brandon Royval called “Raw Dawg“?
Naturally, many have been impressed with Royval and his kill-or-be-killed way of fighting. Although he claims to be fighting out of fear at times, there is nothing more terrifying than seeing the flyweight charging at you. Having learned to control his chaos, Royval has come a long way.
Interestingly, many have often inquired about his nickname, ‘Raw Dawg‘. Speaking about it ahead of UFC Vegas 46, Brandon explained its origins. “That nickname came from a drunk fan in the audience. He was yelling, ‘Brandon, raw dog him, raw dog him,” the flyweight recalled. “That happened when I was an amateur, and years after that [my team] were like yeah, Brandon’ Raw Dawg’ Royval, and making jokes”.
Further, the trend continued when Brandon was fighting in the WSOF. Although he himself was not too keen on the name due to its NSFW meaning and the s*xual innuendos made of it, the name still stuck. “So, after a few fights with LFA, I was telling them ‘Hey, we got to drop this nickname’ and then Mike Kendall, the announcer from LFA, I swear, leaned into it extra hard that time. He was like ‘RAWWW DAWWWG,’ and I was like, well, I guess Raw Dawg is sticking”.
Seeing his way of fighting and his tenacious demeanor, many felt as though the nickname was perfectly apt for him. Over time, Royval himself has given in to the very obvious jokes around his nickname and started to embrace it. Clearly, on his way to being a fan favorite, Royval intends to stay true to his nickname and give the fans something to cheer about with each fight.