‘I Should Never Be In A F—king Prelim Again’

KANSAS CITY, MO – Don’t put “Raw Dawg” on the “Prelims” anymore … or else.

Brandon Royval picked one of the biggest wins of his UFC career thus far by knocking out Matheus Nicolau last night (Sat. Apr. 15, 2023) at UFC Kansas City from inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri (watch highlights). With the big win over Nicolau, he more than likely locked himself up as the No. 1 contender.

One of the biggest mysteries of UFC Kansas City was Royval, the second-highest-ranked fighter on the card, being on the “Prelims” portion – and not even the “Featured Prelim.”

During his UFC Kansas City post-fight interview, Royval made it very clear he doesn’t want to fight on the “Prelims” again.

“I should never be in a fu—ing prelim again,” Royval told MMA Mania. “It’s like, why am I on a prelim? Why have I ever been on any of these prelims? I got Fight of the Night in every single one of my fights- a bonus every single time I fight. Why am I on a prelim? I’m top five in the division, and I’m second highest ranked on this whole entire card.

It’s like, why? Why? It’s not like I’m a boring wrestler, and I come to f—king wrestle fu-k these dudes. I go for the finish. I f—king put myself in danger. I don’t need to be doing that. You saw me not do that today. But I went and put myself in danger in every single one of my fights…so yeah, why am I on a f—king prelim?”

Royval is riding a three-fight win streak since losing to the next Flyweight title challenger Alexandre Pantoja.

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For complete UFC Kansas City results and coverage click here.