UFC 329 results, highlights: Brandon Royval submits Lone'er Kavangh in three-round thriller

LAS VEGAS -- Brandon Royval is overdelivering for the flyweight division's reputation. For the third consecutive year, he delivered a Fight of the Year contender. His dance partner, Lone'er Kavanagh, rocked him multiple times on the main card of UFC 329 but couldn't keep "Raw Dawg" off him.

Royval has a Tasmanian Devil quality about him; he fights like a whirlwind. Kavanagh, the more disciplined striker, spun him around with concussive blows, but couldn't keep up with Royval's pace and deep bag of tricks. The fight was most likely split heading into the third and final round. Royval's volume should have won him Round 1; meanwhile, Kavanagh's second-round knockdown closed the gap. 

The flyweight youth takeover seemed poised to expand after Kavanagh rocked Royval in the final frame, but Royval had more tricks up his sleeve. Royval dragged Kavanagh to the ground and worked diligently towards an arm triangle choke. Though he couldn't get it, a rear-naked choke proved more fruitful. Kavanagh tapped before slipping unconscious moments later. 

Be sure to keep up with all the action on Saturday with our live coverage of UFC 329, including round-by-round scoring and updated fight results throughout the night!

"Me and this boy deserve a f---ing bonus. We go out and fight every time," Royval said in his post-fight interview before heaping praise upon his opponent. "That's a future champion."

The flyweight division has seen major turnover in the last year. Joshua Van is the UFC champion, Tatsuro Taira and Kavangh have wins over Brandon Moreno. Manel Kape recently knocked out Kyoji Horiguchi to stake his claim to a title shot. Kavanagh was favored to push that agenda further. Instead, Royval, who has only fought ranked opponents since his 2020 UFC debut, had other plans. Royval, currently ranked No. 4 in the UFC's official flyweight rankings, plans to continue that crusade against the changing tide. Post-fight, he called out another rising contender, Asu Almabayev (No. 7).