Brandon Royval joins Karyn Bryant, Laura Sanko and Michael Chiesa on the UFC Post Show following his split-decision win …
uh how good does it feel to get that loss Avenged oh I didn’t even think about the loss that’s it’s not even like about any that I needed that surgery so bad that it’s like H in my head I don’t consider a loss I really don’t right um it was just cool to be in Mexico man this is this is a a dream come true you know and uh I I I don’t get to travel the world often I I’ve never been around or anything so the fact that I get to like live my dream and travel the RO is just the coolest ever and uh man man man it was cool it was cool to be in a fight it was it’s cool to just like sit there fifth round I I knew uh I knew he’d sit there and bang with me that last minute or that last so and that was fun too and it’s just like I’m just happy to be here man I’m happy to be living my dream and uh man obviously a lot of adrenaline a very emotional night for you on the walk out you could see it in your face I can see it in you now we could all feel it in the whole entire night I mean this was really an important victory for you wasn’t it yeah man I just needed to pull myself out of a dark place so after after losing that title shot I was I was not doing good mentally uh they offered me this fight and I’ve never been so like I need I need something like that I needed an opportunity I needed a a main event this was like something to drag me out a bed going to Mexico fighting Brandon Moreno’s a privilege he’s scary and I knew uh I’m in the back room and it’s like you know you’re in for a war you know like at best at best it’s like you know I’m either going to get I’m going to get owned or you know like but if if I get a w it’s going to be a war this guy’s not easy to finish it’s not easy to take out and uh I knew I was in for in for crazy night and uh shout out to him for taking the fight too cuz it’s like you know I’m not air oazi I I finish fights I I go for the kill I hurt people and uh that’s that could have been easy to say yes when you’re going to go go against a wrestler then all a sudden you’re going against someone trying to take your head off and uh I don’t know it was it was cool I I I don’t know what happened but I missed the kick right away and my knee like it like popped it did something weird and I couldn’t put weight on it and uh after B I’m like I don’t know what it is about this kid but like I break I’m breaking like like I’m I’m going to break and uh I’m happy I could push through I’m happy I could fight another 25 minutes after that or 24 minutes after that and uh just happy to be here man I’m just I’m lucky I’m blessed and uh what what an adventure what a life what an incredible fight too I mean amazing to watch you work through that adversity I talk to us about that because we could see from here that the knee was affecting you but then it seemed like at one point you just kind of shut it out maybe did did it get better or did you just kind of mentally say forget it let’s just go no it didn’t it was the scariest thing ever cuz like uh my whole game plan to kick Mareno morand’s pretty heavy on his feet like on his foot my whole game plan land kicks kicks kicks and within a sec within a minute my whole game plan almost went out the window but then I’m like I I got to do it you know and uh that was one of my big regrets against Pantoja I stopped kicking and it’s like I need a kick to win this fight uh and I I needed that so I just made a decision I’m like all right well I can’t abandon my best weapon right now I can’t abandon uh this left kick he was circling to it a little bit and uh I I just decided I’m like all right well if this is how I go out then this is how I’m going to go out and uh I was like but this is also how I’m going to get to Victory too so I was just like I I got to do it you know you could hear I mean you were you were following the game plan that coach Mark was shouting I mean it was like he was you know playing playing a video game out there when could you feel the momentum in this fight start to shift a little bit I felt like I won all maybe all but one round uh I wasn’t really sure about the last round and there maybe like a middle round in there but I for sure thought I had three rounds at least uh I felt like he was kind of tentative and uh I was a man I worked to my wrestling defense so hard that I was just happy I could I could not just stay on my back or I wasn’t staying on my back too long you know yeah so yeah it’s a it’s what a life man what a crazy two months what a crazy two months I was getting my butt kicked two months ago by P Pia and I’m like I need to make these adjustments I I need to make these adjustments To Be A Champion uh Pantoja made amazing adjustments and it’s like if I could look at him and take something away from him it would be that so uh I immediately was like I need to make these adjustments and uh I had two I had six weeks to work it so I did it you know so it was cool man what a cool life well I got to ask you this you know we’re here we’re elevation I know you train in Denver but the longer the fight went you just started to pick up the pace was this part of the game plan or did you just kind of start to feel like you had more to give you you put out 489 strikes I don’t know if you’re aware you almost tapped into 500 over 25 minutes was that part of the game plan or were you just feeling like you were conditioned enough to put on that kind of pace the later the fight went I kind of thought he wasn’t I kind of felt like he was feeling it a little bit so maybe like in my head I and like I could be wrong I could be 100% wrong but in my head that’s the decision I made I was like uh I think he might be feeling it so like I I just need to put out a little bit more I didn’t have too much sting on my punches which is embarrassing but uh I I knew I needed to just pick it up a little bit uh and I feel like that’s that’s how I do it man I my first rounds are always not the best my second rounds I come out a little stronger and uh it’s like when we do our drills when we do strength and conditioning it’s always my fourth and fifth round that I’m killing it and uh it was really cool just that that I can kind of hold the fruition on that one well the the one thing I want to go back on is you were talking about how at best you could expect a war I want to know what’s going on in your head in the locker room cuz you’re talking about it sounds like after the Pantoja fight you’re in a little bit of a dark place and you’re telling us at best I’m I’m in for a war so how do you get ready mentally to get out there and get yourself the confidence to go out and put on that kind of performance did did I have confidence out there I I don’t feel like I was exuberating confidence out there at all but uh I just knew like I’m here I told myself that I told myself that before in the in the cage just like I I can’t go back I can’t go back in the back anymore like I got to go forward I got to go forward and uh that’s why I was telling myself in my head I was like like I’m I can’t go back I got to go for forward so uh I I wanted to leave cuz I wanted to leave when there when he was walking out I’m like this whole the whole world’s against me right now and it’s was just like so be it man so be it so be it man they’re not against you though and that was one thing I thought that was great afterwards you said look I have the same heart as you because everything you love about Brandon royall I have I’m the same kind of person and it really did show tonight yeah yeah yeah and I I believe that to the fullest man I I take that to heart when I’m like uh when I go fight I’m like I got that Mexican blood in me that that’s you see the Mexican boxers bro they’re they’re going to go forward the whole time they’re going to put out a bunch of punches they’re going to be in your face the whole time and it’s like that’s how I wanted to be today and uh that’s how fight that’s and that’s like I said that’s not me that’s something I was born with that was that’s this this is this place you know it’s not me well it was incredible and thank you so much for making the effort not only in that fight but to come up here as well because that was yet another battle but listen Brandon that was going to get down there’s an elevator going to carry you coach is going to carry you to Victory Lane yes well thank you so much for joining us and I mean congratulations on just truly an epic epic victory tonight BR thank you guys thank [Applause] [Music] you