Royval survives Kavanagh knockdown to seal rear-naked choke finish at UFC 329

Brandon Royval survived one of the scariest moments of his night to submit Lone’er Kavanagh via rear-naked choke at 3:40 of the third round at UFC 329. The flyweight contest was a bruising, back-and-forth war that swung dramatically before Royval finally sealed the finish.

Royval controlled the opening round on the front foot, backing Kavanagh up and mixing strikes with takedown attempts. He caught a kick midway through, responded with a flurry of punches, and dragged the fight to the canvas where he landed sharp elbows.

The second round changed the complexion of the fight entirely. Kavanagh landed a perfectly timed counter right hand that put Royval on the canvas, then swarmed with heavy punches and elbows as Royval scrambled to survive. Royval eventually clawed his way back to his feet and pressed forward again, but Kavanagh remained dangerous, countering sharply and working effectively from the clinch.

The third round was equally chaotic. Royval staggered Kavanagh early, only for the younger fighter to fire back and hurt him in return. Another wild exchange sent the fight to the ground, where Royval unleashed punches and elbows before transitioning to an arm-triangle choke. Kavanagh scrambled free, but Royval immediately took his back and this time found the rear-naked choke with no escape available. Kavanagh tapped.

“I smoke rocks, Joe Rogan,” Royval quipped on the microphone after the fight. “Me and this boy deserve a bonus. That’s a future champion right there. I’m a master of chaos. I wish I fought prettier but that’s not how I do it. The choke opened up and we’re going to get that bonus, right?”

Royval also called out flyweight contender Asu Almabayev following the victory, adding: “You’re awesome.”

The win keeps Royval relevant in a stacked flyweight division, while Kavanagh, despite the loss, demonstrated the kind of resilience and counter-punching ability that could make him a serious contender in the future.