UFC 329: Brandon Royval post-fight interview

Brandon, congratulations. Another back and forth war in there. Physically, how are you feeling? I see the boot. I see a couple lumps on your forehead. So physically, how are you feeling after that? My ankle hurts. That's really it. Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I guess when you're in a fight like that, are you at some point just like, all right, we're doing this again. You went through the Vans fight. I think you got dropped in the second. You came back and won. It just seems like every time you go in there, fans can now know what to expect with a Brandon Roy ball fight. No, they know what to expect. It's that ----. My coaches don't know what to expect. Nah, bro. That's what I do. I'm a fighter. I'm a fighter first. I didn't know how this fight was going to play out. I knew he was a really accomplished striker. He definitely came in there a little bit afraid of all that. I'm just really happy that I was able to pull it off. I listened really well. Maybe not to my corner, but I listened to his corner really well, for sure. Yeah, there was just a lot of good moments in there. I got dropped, and I promised myself, bro, I got a baby on the way, and I promised myself, I was like, I'm leaving here with two checks. I don't care what happens. If I get knocked out, so be it, but it's going to be an entertaining knockout, and I'm going forward the whole entire time. I promised myself, no matter what, I'm leaving here with two checks. I'm going to make a lot of money for me and my family. I'm super happy. When you say you were listening to his coach, were they just being loud in there? No, I could hear what they were saying. They were giving obviously good advice, but we watched their videos. We subscribed to their YouTube channel, all of the above, bro. We're subscribed to Loner Cavanaugh's emails. Loner Cavanaugh was shooting his emails of how he set up his low kick, and I still couldn't stop it. I could hear his corner really well. I don't know if I listened to ---- from my corner, but I had fun. You called out Azu Almubayev. Is that just the ranking? Do you see another big fight? I just want to stay busy, but I'm also a title contender. I'm a title-worthy fighter, so I'm glad I could finally show it. I'm glad I could finally get a finish. It's been a minute since I got a finish. Before I got to the UFC, I was 100% finish rate. When would you like to fight again after you heal up? I wanted to fight August 15th. I don't know if that's a possibility, but I want to fight soon. I want to fight before my baby comes. When is the baby due? In October. Congratulations. Thank you, brother. Hey, Brandon, over here. Congratulations on the win. Where does this win rank in terms of career highlights? You've had a lot of good ones, but this is the one again where you counted out a lot. You get the finish here, which was super impressive. Yeah, man, I'm going to have to look over it because I don't really remember much of it. I thought the first round was playing out beautifully. I thought I won, and I thought I was fighting a high-level fight. I got a takedown, which I don't do often. I felt like I was beating him up on the feet. My jab looked really good. The second round, I don't really know exactly what went wrong, but I still had fun in that fight. The third round, I don't even know either. I'm going to have to look it over, bro. I would say it has to be up there. It has to be in the top five, top three for sure. Was there more pressure going into tonight's fight than some of the other ones just because you're coming off the knockout loss? Obviously, we talked immediately. You're like, I want to get the win for Corey because you guys are buddies too. You obviously got the baby on the way. Mentally, going in, were things different, or did you treat it like any other? I wasn't leaving here without an exciting fight at the very least. I wanted a win, but I was like, you know what? I got my teammate fighting after me, and I got to put wind under his sails. I have to put wind under his sails, and I have to be an exciting fight. I have to have a good fight. Then all the other things. I got a baby on the way. I got family to feed. I want to set him up good before I end up leaving this place. There was a lot of pressure. Then honestly, I fought the best three strikers back-to-back-to-back. The best three strikers in the division, the hardest-hitting strikers in the division, maybe not Joshua Van being the hardest-hitting striker, but he is one of the best strikers. But the hardest-hitting strikers back-to-back. I have a hard schedule. I've always had a hard schedule, but that's a hard schedule right there. Yeah, it was a lot of pressure, bro. I was really nervous. I've never been finished like that. I just wanted to come back, and I don't want to be a *******… I love this ----, bro, more than anything. I want to leave a statement when I can. Did you see Manel Kopp's tweet? He gave you some props after the win. No, I haven't. He called you a G. It seemed like he was very impressed with the fight. No, no, bro. Me and Manel Kopp talk a lot of ---- back and forth, but I have a lot of respect for him. I like him a lot. He's been nothing but a gentleman to me when we see each other. I think he deserves the next title shot. I thought he deserved the next title shot, but he's good people. I appreciate you guys. Just last one for me. I know you're a little banged up, but what's the plan for tonight? What are you getting up to? I don't know, bro. I want to watch this main event. You think they'll let us watch this main event? That's just a good ******* point. I want to watch this main event. I want to watch Max do great things. I just want to chill, bro. Congrats on the win. Thank you, brother. I appreciate you guys.