Brandon Royval is close to making MMA his full-time job.
The former LFA flyweight champion put in his two-week notice at his day job after winning a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 9. Royval (11-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated veteran Tim Ellitott by second-round submission in a fun, back-and-forth bout.
“I’m definitely happy I won at this point, and I’m happy I got the bonus,” Royval told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “I thought I was a bit undeserving, but with that being said, I’m happy I got it. It’s enough to change my life for the next year, but with that being said, if I want to compete at the highest level and compete in the UFC, that wasn’t going to cut it. That performance wasn’t going to be enough.”
Despite being victorious in his UFC debut over a former title challenger and picking up extra cash, Royval remains critical of his performance.
Either way, “Raw Dawg” is happy he now gets to focus fully on his MMA career. With the $50,000 in his pocket plus what he made from his fight purse, Royval quit his non-fighting gig as a security guard at a juvenile detention center.
“I put in my two-week notice (Tuesday),” Royval said. “I’ve been working since I was 15 years old, so this is the first time I don’t have to have a job, and I can actually pursue MMA. This is the first time.”
Royval, 27, enjoyed the security job and hopes to be able to once again do something similar when the time is right. But for now, he’s happy with this major step forward.
“I’m really stoked. I asked them if I could go part-time. I knew the option wasn’t going to be there; they weren’t going to go out there and make a special request for me or whatever. But I talked to them and we’re on really good terms,” Royval said. “I get along with my manager, and it’s a job I really like. It’s a job I’m pretty good at, and I will always definitely go back to that job later on. I think even now I’ll go back as a mentor to go mentor some of these kids. But with that being said, I put in my two-week notice today, so that’s a major step in my life.”
Brandon Royval gives day job two weeks' notice after winning UFC on ESPN 9 bonus
