MMA Preview – Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Royval at UFC Vegas 34
ALEXANDRE PANTOJA VS BRANDON ROYVAL FACTS
When is UFC Vegas 34? Sunday 22nd August, 2021 - 01:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Vegas 34? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Vegas 34? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC Vegas 34 on? BT Sport 1
Where can I stream UFC Vegas 34? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
ALEXANDRE PANTOJA VS BRANDON ROYVAL LOWDOWN
Alexandre Pantoja (23-5) is coming off a solid unanimous decision win over Manel Kape in February – a win that will look better with time as Kape is a real talent. It came after a unanimous decision loss to Askar Askarov a year ago who is on his way to a title shot. Pantoja is now 7-3 in the UFC and since his loss to Dustin Ortiz back in 2018, the Brazilian has only lost to Deiveson Figueiredo and Askarov which is very respectable, and he even has a win over the current champ Brandon Moreno back in 2018.
Brandon Royval (16-7(1)) is another exciting flyweight talent but is coming off the first setback of his UFC career. After winning the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance by submitting Nate Williams, he stepped up to the UFC to take to take on Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France. He simply continued where he left off and submitted both of them proving he is more than UFC calibre. However, he met his match in Moreno in November and they put on an exhilarating show before getting TKO’d at the end of the first round.
ALEXANDRE PANTOJA VS BRANDON ROYVAL PREDICTION
This is a great fight to kick off the main card. Royval makes every fight exciting, and Pantoja is not one to back down so this should be an action-packed and fast-paced scrap.
Expect Royval to be his usual unorthodox self, pressing the action with Pantoja waiting to counter. Royval will have a four-inch height and three-reach advantage, but he needs to be smart when he presses the action as he has a tendency to leave his chin exposed which he cannot afford to do against Pantoja.
We expect the stand-up battle to be exciting with it spilling into scrambles and grappling exchanges. They are both exceptional on the ground and capable of a submission here. Overall, this should be an even and fiercely contested fight with a mixture of everything.
Royval can get the job done by making this a scrappy brawl and wearing Pantoja down. If Royval is reckless, Pantoja can counter with his power. The Brazilian can also gain the upper hand in the grappling exchanges as long as he can get in top position but if he gets hurt Royval can wrap up a submission in a flash.
This can go either way and they are both efficient finishers but, extremely hard to finish, so we could see a three-round war. We are leaning towards Pantoja as he is slightly better technically in every area, but it is hard to count out Royval.
Prediction: Pantoja via Decision - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)
