On Saturday in the octagon, Brandon Royval is fighting for the kids of southwest Denver.
The 31-year-old Denver native takes on Tatsuro Taira in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. A win would likely catapult Royval, the No. 1 contender in the flyweight division who beat No. 2 Brandon Moreno in his last fight, to another shot at the belt.
It would also help pay for a new gym Royval plans to open off Federal Boulevard in the southwest part of the city.
“I’m fighting for something bigger than me — I’m fighting for an opportunity for a lot of people,” Royval said. “None of this happens without the notoriety of being ranked No. 1, none of it happens without winning the fight and getting more money and keeping the kind of status that I’ve earned at this point in my career.
“The goal is just to bring youth in there. I don’t care about building (professional) fighters. … My goal is to bring world-class MMA and world-class wrestling to the community, especially along the Federal area to predominately Hispanic communities.”
Royval, who left Englewood-based Factory X after his win over Moreno, envisions an all-compassing gym at that spot.
It would give his team, which includes his coach Clay Matza, UFC lightweight Alexander Hernandez and Fury Fighting Championship titleist flyweight Luis Gurule, a permanent place to train. But Royval says it would also act as an affordable youth development program. He plans to start wrestling classes and a wrestling club, in addition to MMA training.
The facility would also offer mentorship opportunities, as well as tutoring, counseling and nutrition services.
“I just want to provide a place that’s safe, and one that keeps kids busy and on the right track,” Royval said. “There’s a lot of aid that can be given to these communities and kids who live in the surrounding projects, and I’d love to be a part of it as much as possible to help shape some of these futures.”
Despite his ranking as the top contender in the division and upset of Moreno in February in Mexico City, Royval enters Saturday as a +190 betting underdog, per Draft Kings. Tatsuro Taira is 16-0 as a pro, including 6-0 in the UFC, and ranked fifth in his weight class. The hype is high for the Japanese fighter, who’s coming off a June TKO win over Alex Perez after Perez suffered a knee injury in the second round.
Royval, who has trained with Taira in the past, claims “I can dog him everywhere.” Royval has recovered from the torn MCL in his left knee that he suffered early in the win over Moreno.
“I can beat him in a straight-up fight, I can out-technique him, I think I’m faster, I hit harder,” Royval said. “My ground game’s better, my striking’s better. In my opinion, he’s a little green as far as experience goes. He hasn’t really beat anybody (notable). And I’ve fought who’s who.
“I’m here to prove there’s levels to this. He’s a good kid, a nice kid. That being said, he’s running into a very not nice man.”
Royval believes that with a victory over Taira, the UFC won’t be able to deny him a rematch against reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja. The Chatfield graduate lost to Pantoja via unanimous decision in a title fight last December, and Pantoja has since defended his belt again in a victory over Steve Erceg at UFC 301 in May.
“I’m going to take out everyone in front of me,” Royval said. “That’s all there is to it. Anyone the UFC thinks is a contender, I’m going to take them out until they have no choice but to put me back into that title fight.”
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