Preview: UFC Fight Night 237 ‘Moreno vs. Royval 2’

Given the success Mexican fighters have enjoyed in recent years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been long overdue in making its return South of the Border. That finally happens after over four years of waiting with UFC Fight Night 237 this Saturday at Mexico City Arena, and it comes with an excellent one-two punch atop the card. In the main event, former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and perennial contender Brandon Royval run back a 2020 fight that ended prematurely due to injury; and in a strange twist, the five-round featherweight co-headliner between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega also revisits a battle that ended due to premature injury. Both fights are as well-matched now as they were then, and the rest of the main draw features an array of entertaining scraps highlighting Mexican and Mexican-American prospects, led by bantamweight wunderkind Raul Rosas Jr. and women’s strawweight buzz saw Yazmin Jauregui in some winnable but tough tests.

Now to the UFC Fight Night 237 “Moreno vs. Royval 2” preview:

Flyweights

#1 FLW | Brandon Moreno (21-7-2, 9-4-2 UFC) vs. #3 FLW | Brandon Royval (15-7, 5-3 UFC)

ODDS: Moreno (-270), Royval (+220)

This marks yet another rematch near the top of the flyweight division, but there is enough intrigue for Moreno and Royval to run it back three years and change later. Their first fight, which took place in November 2020, was an entertaining affair that was going Moreno’s way until a sudden ending late in the first round, as a Royval shoulder injury suddenly left him unable to defend himself. It was a disappointing result in a vacuum, though in retrospect, it was a pretty major moment for both Moreno and the flyweight division as a whole. Why? It made Moreno’s longtime rivalry with Deiveson Figueiredo possible. With both Moreno and then-champ Figueiredo scoring quick wins on the same card and coming out relatively unscathed, each were in a position to turn around just three weeks later and main event a pay-per-view that was suddenly in need of a title fight. The two fought to a tooth-and-nail draw that necessitated an immediate rematch, which then turned into an unprecedented series of four championship fights, interrupted only by a Moreno interim title win over Kai Kara-France in 2022. After trading the belt back and forth, Moreno finally closed that chapter of his career with one last win over Figueiredo on Brazilian soil in early 2023, having established himself as a star for the UFC and raising the profile of the division in the process. Moreno’s first title defense of his second reign saw him take on yet another old foe in Alexandre Pantoja, who had beaten him both on “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016 and in the last fight of Moreno’s first UFC stint back in 2018. Their third fight was the closest of the bunch but yielded a familiar result. After another Moreno title fight that ranked among the most entertaining bouts of its year, Pantoja walked away with the win and the title. Yet between his status and success, Moreno is not far from jumping right back into the title picture with another win.

While Moreno’s career has been marked by consistent improvement in the years since his first fight with Royval, the Factory X rep’s last few years have been a bit more of a rollercoaster. “Raw Dawg” came to the UFC as an absolute whirlwind of violence earlier in 2020, but after injuring himself in the loss to Moreno and quickly losing to Pantoja upon his return nine months later, Royval understandably felt the need to retool. The results have been a mixed bag, even if Royval did string together three wins to get another shot at Pantoja, this time for the title. Royval’s decision victory over Rogerio Bontorin saw him clearly overcompensate for his prior struggles, to the point that he almost lost a decision through inactivity. Wins over Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau were much more spectacular, but it is still hard to tell if Royval rediscovered anything. Schnell fought aggressively to the point of self-destruction, while Nicolau was a patient counterstriker who immediately got caught cold. Then came Royval’s title challenge against Pantoja in December, when he did not get much done in a fight where the champion was content to hold onto wrestling positions and allow his counterpart to coast to a loss. Even if it is difficult to say Royval is operating at peak effectiveness, his success proves that he is still a ridiculously dangerous fighter, including in this pairing. While Moreno has continued to sharpen his tools, there is an innate level of aggression that often marches him right into danger. Royval’s long frame allows him to land at unexpected moments—as he did against Nicolau—so there is a chance his reach could cause Moreno some issues. However, someone should look to start a grappling match at some point, and that is where Moreno figures to shine. He was ahead of Royval on the ground in their first fight, and their respective performances in the years since have done nothing to shake that impression. The pick is Moreno via second-round submission.

Jump To »
Moreno vs. Royval
Rodriguez vs. Ortega
Zellhuber vs. Prado
Rosas Jr. vs. Turcios
Jauregui vs. Hughes
Torres vs. Duncan
The Prelims