UFC 329 video: Brandon Royval taps Lone’er Kavanagh with rear-naked choke after wild back-and-forth fight

Brandon Royval took out a young contender in Lone’er Kavanagh at UFC 329

Nothing came easy for Brandon Royval but he eventually locked in a fight-ending rear-naked choke to finish Lone’er Kavanagh at UFC 329.

It was an incredible back-and-forth war from start to finish with Kavanagh nearly ending it with a knockdown in the second round but Royval survived and then mounted a great comeback in the third round. After getting the fight to the ground, Royval was searching for a submission until he finally found an opening to sink in the rear-naked choke and with no chance to escape, Kavanagh had no choice but to tap out.

“I smoke rocks, Joe Rogan,” Royval joked after his win. “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 was on his front foot at the start of the fight, backing Kavanagh up and trying to find a home for his best strikes. Kavanagh seemed happy to play counter fighter as he came back at Royval with measured punches and looking to set up his combinations.

Midway through the round, Royval caught a kick from Kavanagh and threw several stiff punches in succession. That led to Royval shooting inside and taking Kavanagh to the canvas where he started chipping away with some nasty elbows.

At the start of the second round, Royval snapped off a couple of good lead jabs as he kept pushing Kavanagh backwards. Then out of nowhere, Kavanagh uncorked a perfectly timed counter right hand that put Royval down.

Kavanagh went on the attack on the ground with some huge punches and devastating elbows as Royval shifted into survival mode. Royval eventually got back to his feet and he actually went on the attack again before diving for another takedown, which was thwarted by Kavanagh.

Back on the feet, Royval tried to find his distance again but Kavanagh was quick to counter again as he moved inside to work from the clinch again. But Royval was relentless and he finally grabbed onto another takedown, although Kavanagh was quick to recover and get back to his feet again.

With five minutes remaining, Royval tagged Kavanagh and he had his opponent staggered. Royval started looking for the finish but Kavanagh fired back and this time he had the former flyweight titlte challenger hurt on the feet.

Another wild exchange led to Royval getting the fight to the ground where he began unleashing a barrage of punches and elbows. Royval then moved into position for an arm-triangle choke and Kavanagh was in trouble as he tried to scramble free.

Royval released the submission but then ended up taking the back where he was once again searching for a finish. That led to Royval snatching the rear-naked choke and Kavanagh finally had no choice but to tap out to end the fight.

It’s going to be tough to deny these two the Fight of the Night award but regardless of any bonus, Royval got back on track and stopped Kavanagh’s equally impressive run after he dispatched former champion Brandon Moreno in his previous outing.