Brandon Royval bought a proposal to face Kai Asakura at UFC 305 in Perth, however he finally turned it down.
Now, Royval will face Tatsuro Taira in the primary occasion of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 98 struggle card on the UFC APEX. “Uncooked Dawg” says the struggle with the previous RIZIN bantamweight champion excited him, but when he was going to make the ten,000-mile trek, it wanted to be price his whereas.
“They supplied me that struggle in Australia,” Royval instructed MMA Combating. “I requested them for extra money, I requested for a handful of stuff, and so they mentioned no. After which I requested them for certainly one of any of these issues, and so they mentioned no. And I used to be like, all proper, effectively, then I’m not gonna go f*cking struggle some dude, not within the UFC, for not a lot cash, all the way in which throughout the [world] the place I’m not getting any sleep. I’m not getting any of this, I’m not getting a assured title shot, I’m not getting any extra money.
“I bought to convey my entire crew on the market if I’m going to go on the market as a result of I have to get my Arcadian rhythm in cycle. So it’s like I bought to fly out my entire crew and guys that appear like Kai Asakura. So it was a type of [things where] financially [it] doesn’t make sense to me. After which it additionally, like, the danger doesn’t [exceed] the reward. If I’m going on the market and lose, I simply misplaced anyone and not using a rating, and if I’m going on the market and win, they’re not guaranteeing me a title shot or something. So there was actually no reward in that.”
The 32-year-old Royval is ready to make his tenth octagon look, and does so in his second consecutive Battle Night time headliner. In December Royval got here up brief in his first alternative at UFC gold, shedding a unanimous resolution to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296. Together with his future unknown following the loss, Royval jumped on the chance to face previous opponent Brandon Moreno on brief discover in the primary occasion of UFC Mexico Metropolis, and went on to get the victory through cut up resolution.
With effectively over 4 years within the promotion, and being the UFC’s present top-ranked 125-pounder, Royval has discovered, and understood, that once you’re in that place, the juice must be definitely worth the squeeze — even for a fan-friendly struggle in opposition to Asakura.
“Dude, I consider myself like, bro, I’m a prostitute for positive,” Royval defined. “I put my physique on the road for cash. However it’s at this level [that] I f*cking earned my No. 1 spot. I fought my ass off. I’m No. 1 on the planet. So I’m an costly prostitute. I’m not an affordable ass prostitute anymore. I’m not simply promoting my physique to anyone who we’ll take it.
“I f*cking I bought a value on me, and I’m not simply f*cking anyone, you realize what I’m saying? I nonetheless consider in my coronary heart of hearts I’m essentially the most thrilling fighter within the flyweight division. Anytime my fights haven’t been thrilling, It wasn’t due to me.”
Asakura signed with the UFC earlier this 12 months following a stoppage win over former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta at RIZIN 45 this previous New Yr’s Eve. The 30-year-old has nonetheless but to make his promotional debut.
Ought to he defeat Taira on Saturday, Royval would like to get his likelihood to avenge the loss to the champion. But when not, he would like to face Asakura, and perhaps achieve this if the UFC returns to Japan in 2025.
“I don’t know, I actually don’t know,” Royval mentioned. “I wish to struggle for a belt. However that being mentioned is like, in the event that they’re not gonna give me a belt and it’s like, I believe I’ve a win over the entire prime 5 of the division, I don’t know what else you guys need, motherf*cker.
“However rattling, yeah, I kinda wanna struggle Kai Asakura in Japan. Japan is a dream. Kai Asakura is sick. That will get me away from bed, and I wish to struggle for a f*cking belt. In the event that they wish to hype Kai, then I wish to take that.”
