Pantoja vs Royval

Who won Pantoja vs Royval?

Alexandre Pantoja beat Brandon Royval by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the co-main event of UFC 296, on Saturday 16th December 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced as 50-45, 50-45, 49-46 in favor of the winner Alexandre Pantoja.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 125 pounds (8.9 stone or 56.7 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Flyweight championship.

Pantoja vs Royval stats

Alexandre Pantoja stepped into the octagon with a record of 26 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 10 by submission.

Brandon Royval made his way to the cage with a record of 14 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 9 by submission.

This was Alexandre Pantoja's 16th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2017. Brandon Royval marked his 10th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Alexandre Pantoja's UFC record stood at 13-3-0, while Brandon Royval's came in at 7-3-0.

The stats suggested Pantoja had a slight advantage in power over Royval, with a 31% knock out percentage over Royval's 21%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Royval had a large advantage over Pantoja, boasting a 64% submission rate over Pantoja's 38%.

Alexandre Pantoja was the older man by 2 years, at 34 years old.

Royval had a height advantage of 4 inches over Pantoja. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Pantoja was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 11 more fights, and made his debut in 2007, 5 years earlier than Royval, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 28 more professional rounds, 82 to Royval's 54.

Pantoja vs Royval form

Alexandre Pantoja had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 on 8th July 2023 by split decision in their UFC Flyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Alex Perez at UFC 277 on 30th July 2022 by submission in the 1st round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Brandon Royval at UFC Vegas 34 on 21st August 2021 by submission in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Enterprise.

Before that, he was victorious against Manel Kape at UFC Vegas 18 on 6th February 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had lost to Askar Askarov at UFC Fight Island 2 on 18th July 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Royval had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Matheus Nicolau at UFC Fight Night – Holloway vs. Allen on 15th April 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Matt Schnell at UFC 274 on 7th May 2022 by submission in the 1st round at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Rogerio Bontorin at UFC Fight Night on 15th January 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had been beaten by Alexandre Pantoja at UFC Vegas 34 on 21st August 2021 by submission in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Enterprise.

He was victorious against Kai Kara France at UFC 253 on 26th September 2020 by submission in the 2nd round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Brandon Royval had been fighting more than Alexandre Pantoja.

Going to this contest, Alexandre Pantoja had last fought 1 year, 8 months and 7 days ago, while Brandon Royval's last outing had been 1 year and 11 months ago.

Pantoja's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 7 months and 25 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

Royval's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 5 months and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 22 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Pantoja vs Royval?

Alexandre Pantoja was a 1/2 (-200) favourite going into the contest, while Brandon Royval made his way into the ring at 17/10 (+170) with oddsmakers.