Brandon Royval attempts to continue making the case for why he deserves another flyweight title shot this weekend.
The #1-ranked contender seemingly has less to gain than his opponent in their upcoming main event clash at the UFC Apex.
Tatsuro Taira will be difficult to deny if he’s able to extend his undefeated streak in the UFC to seven by taking out his toughest test in “Raw Dawg”.
Royval knows that there’s a lot of hype around his next opponent and that gives him the opportunity to steal some of the momentum so that he can force his way into another rematch with the champion, Alexandre Pantoja.
The excitement around the 24-year old Taira is seemingly reflected in the betting odds for this fight that have the Japanese contender as the favorite.
Brandon Royval Believes That The Odds Makers Are Way Off On His Next Match-Up
In an interview with Mike Heck for MMA Fighting, Royval gave his reaction to being the underdog in this fight despite his experience at the top level.
The former title challenger has trained with his upcoming opponent in the past, stating in a different interview that they last worked together around a year ago.
Despite being impressed by Taira’s winning streak inside the Octagon, he did say that he was somewhat surprised to be fighting him this soon.
Royval told MMA Fighting that when he looks at the betting odds, he’s convinced that hype has led to things being the wrong way round, suggesting that Taira isn’t as good as this line suggests.
“When I saw that I’m like, am I seeing something wrong or whatever. I’m one of the most underrated dudes in the flyweight division, I’ve been thinking that for years and I also think Taira might be one of the most overrated guys in this division right now, and no disrespect on him. I’ve trained with him, he seems like a very nice kid and I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I do believe he’ll be a champion one day but I think he’s overrated and I think I’m underrated.”
