By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira was this past weekend and featured a
lot of exciting and close decisions and one finish. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira
GOOD- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Alex Morono
Morono starts with kicks while Rodriguez favors punches until they both start mixing up their strikes. They exchange strikes throughout a
close first round. The second round begins with more of the same, as
the fighters continue to exchange powerful strikes and good toughness
in absorbing them from their opponent. They both throw bombs at each
other until the second round ends. The third round starts with even more vicious striking from each man and it’s surprising how well each
fighter is absorbing these attacks and still moving forward. Rodriguez
gets a late takedown and the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict in this very close fight.
Rodriguez wins the Split Decision to improve to 18-5 and snaps his 3 fight losing streak while Morono drops to 24-11 with 1 No Contest.
Good win for Rodriguez.
GOOD- Grant Dawson stops Rafa Garcia
Dawson starts off with some jabs and kicks while Garcia goes with primarily punches. Dawson gets a takedown and starts working his ground-and-pound until the first round ends. The second round begins
with Dawson landing some nice kicks before getting a takedown and
going back to his ground-and-pound. An elbow from Dawson cuts Garcia
badly and he unleashes on Garcia, battering him with elbows and punches until the referee is forced to jump in to stop the fight a bit over a minute and a half into the second round.
Dawson improves to 22-2-1 while Garcia drops to 15-4. Good win for Dawson.
GOOD- Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden
Gooden starts off with some punches before getting an early takedown.
Njokuani is right back up and nails Gooden with several knees to the
body. They’re fighting on the fence as Njokuani continues slamming
knees into Gooden’s body, as well as landing an elbow and some punches. Njokuani lands some more knees and the first round ends. The
second round begins with the fighters trading kicks and grinding in
close. Njokuani starts landing more knees and the occasional elbow.
This continues until the second round ends. Njokuani landed a lot of knees there and they’re paying off. The third round starts with Gooden
getting a takedown. Njokuani is quickly back up but Gooden lands a few
strikes and keeps trying for another takedown. Njokuani is quickly
back up and lands a crushing knee that hurts Gooden badly. Gooden pulls Njokuani onto him and the fight ends with Njokuani landing a lot
of elbows and punches. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Njokuani wins the decision to improve to 24-10 with 1 No Contest while
Gooden drops to 23-10. Good win for Njokuani.
GOOD- Brad Tavares vs. Park Jun-yong
They go to the ground early but they’re back to their feet quickly and
start winging strikes at each other. This continues until the first
round ends. The second round begins with Park getting an early trip takedown. Tavares is quickly back up and they’re fighting in close.
Park is landing a lot of leg kicks and starting to pull away here as the second round ends. The third round starts with more of the same as
they continue brawling. Tavares is cut open. Park gets a takedown and
stays on top until the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Park wins the Split Decision to improve to 18-6 while Tavares drops to 20-10. Good win for Park.
GOOD- Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
They start off exchanging kicks before mixing in some punches as well.
They continue trading until Taira gets a takedown and the first round ends. The second round begins with Taira getting a takedown. They stay
on the mat for the rest of the second round as both men try to advance
their position. The third round starts with the fighters trading
strikes for a moment before trying for a takedown. He can’t get it, though. Royval ups his output and starts chewing up Taira. Royval
knees Taira off an attempted takedown and Taira hits the mat. Royval
follows with strikes and the fighters trade submission attempts until the third round ends.
The fourth round opens with the fighters exchanging strikes until Taira gets a takedown. Taira stays attached with a body lock as he unloads his ground-and-pound until the fourth round ends. The fifth
round begins with Royval landing a lot of strikes as Taira tries
unsuccessfully for a takedown. Taira keeps trying, though, and gets Royval to the mat. They’re grappling back and forth until they stand
and Royval continues his striking assault. Royval gets Taira to the mat and nearly locks in a few submissions but Taira is too tough and he survives until the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Royval wins the Split Decision to improve to 17-7 while Taira gets his
first loss to drop to 16-1. Good win for Royval and there’s no
question he’ll get the next title shot after UFC Flyweight Champion
Alexandre Pantoja (28-5) fights Kai Asakura (21-4) at UFC 310 on December 7th.
*************
UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad (24-3, 1 No Contest) will
defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) at UFC 310 on
December 7th. So UFC 310 will have two title fights on the card to close the year. It’s too hard to pick against both challengers but
both champions have been very impressive in their victories. If I were
pressed I would pick both titles to change hands but these fights are
toss-ups to me. We’ll see, though. Luckily we don’t have too much longer to wait.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias
returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately
seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence,
the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. There’s lots of action,
magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop
game in novel form. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other
places. If you’re interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you
would check it out and support me. Also, here’s the link to my
Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias series- KoZ Compendium Thank you
very much, have a good day.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at
hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
Leave a Reply