UFC Kansas City Results: Brandon Royval Posterizes Matheus Nicolau

This finish from @BrandonRoyval was BRUTAL #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/Mh09lpSdAC

— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023

Brandon Royval made his case for a flyweight title shot, blasting Matheus Nicolau with a gorgeous knee-to-punch combo in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 44 prelim encounter.

“Raw Dawg” (15-6) was his characteristic hyper-aggressive self immediately, taking the fight to his more measured foe. However, things appeared to be settling into an intriguing chess match on the feet when, out of nowhere, Royval clipped Nicolau with a perfect right knee to the chin, followed by a long right hand that caught the Brazilian as he fell. Royval pounced immediately, tacking on several elbow strikes before referee Nick Berens jumped in for the righteous stoppage at 2 minutes, 9 seconds of Round 1.

The win brought Royval’s record in the Octagon to 5-2, while Nicolau fell to 19-3-1 overall, 4-1 in the UFC, and saw a six-fight win streak snapped in defeat.