LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 08: Joshua Van of Myanmar enters the Octagon in a flyweight fight during … More
One of the late additions to the UFC 317 pay-per-view fight card is the intriguing flyweight matchup between former UFC title challenger Brandon Royval and the fast-rising young contender Joshua Van. Royval enters Saturday’s card as the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC flyweight rankings, while Van comes in at No. 12.
The Royval vs. Van bout came together on June 9 after Royval’s initial opponent, Manel Kape, withdrew from UFC 317 with a foot injury. Van, who was coming off a knockout win over Bruno Silva at the top of the UFC 316 prelim card a few days earlier, quickly agreed to face Royval on June 28.
Two title fights get top billing on the UFC 317 PPV. In the main event, former UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria battles ex-UFC lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight strap. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, UFC flyweight kingpin Alexandre Pantoja puts his title on the line against Kai Kara-France. UFC 317 serves as the anchor event for the 2025 edition of International Fight Week.
The winner of the Royval vs. Van fight could be next in line for a shot at the winner of the UFC 317 co-main event.
We look at betting odds, line movement, preview, picks, and predictions for the Royval vs. Van matchup on the UFC 317 fight card.
UFC 317 Fight Card: Brandon Royval Vs. Joshua Van
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: Brandon Royval prepares to face Tatsuro Taira of Japan in a … More
Brandon Royval (17-7) joined the UFC in 2020 with a 10-4 record. At the time, Royval was coming off a November 2019 submission win over Nate Williams, earning him the LFA flyweight title.
Royval did not get an easy matchup in his first UFC bout, as he was booked against former UFC flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott in a slight upset. The matchup won “Fight of the Night” honors.
Royval followed that win with another stoppage in another “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning scrap, submitting the favored Kai Kara-France in the second round of their September 2020 matchup.
Royval ended 2020 with a TKO loss to Brandon Moreno and began 2021 with a submission setback to Alexandre Pantoja. Both those men would go on to hold the UFC flyweight title.
Bouncing back from those losses, Royval went on a three-fight winning streak, picking up another two performance-based bonuses. Then, in December 2023, he got a chance to avenge his submission loss to Pantoja in a matchup for Pantoja’s title. That bout took place at UFC 296, and although Royval went the five-round distance, he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision.
Royval returned in the win column in February 2024 with a split decision triumph over Moreno in another five-round scrap. In October, Royval defeated the rising Tatsuro Taira in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card, beating the 25-year-old by split decision.
The 32-year-old Royval has four knockout wins, nine submissions, and four decisions. Royval’s losses have come by knockout (one), submission (one), and decision (five).
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 08: Joshua Van of Myanmar enters the Octagon in a flyweight fight during … More
Joshua Van (14-2) won the vacant Fury FC flyweight title in his eighth pro bout, submitting Cleveland McLean in the second round of that matchup. Not long after that, Van was booked to face Kevin Borjas on a Dana White’s Contender Series Card, but the UFC plucked him from that event to face Zhalgas Zhumagulov in June 2024. Van won that contest by split decision.
Van followed that victory with wins over Kevin Borjas and Felipe Burns. In July 2024, the UFC booked Van against the more experienced Charles Johnson. While Van had success in the first two rounds, he wilted under Johnson’s pressure early in the third stanza. Johnson won the bout via knockout.
Since that loss, Van has gone 4-0 with three decisions and in his most recent trip to the Octagon, a knockout.
Van has looked better in each of his UFC fights and he seems ready to face high-level competition, but the No. 1 ranked contender? No one should question Van for accepting the opportunity to face Royval, but it could be too much too soon for the 23-year-old.
Van has seven knockout wins, two submissions and five decisions. His losses have come by knockout and submission.
UFC 317 Fight Card Betting Lines And Movement: Brandon Royval Vs. Joshua Van
In what might have been a case of what have we seen from you lately, Joshua Van opened as the -260 betting favorite over the +220 Royval when BetOnline first listed the odds for this contest. Those betting lines have moved since then. Today, Van is -122 and Royval is +102.
UFC 317 Fight Card Tale Of The Tape: Brandon Royval Vs. Joshua Van
Brandon Royval
Age: 32
Height: 5’9”
Reach: 68”
Stance: Southpaw
Joshua Van
Age: 23
Height: 5’5”
Reach: 65”
Stance: Orthodox
UFC 317 Fight Card Predictions And Picks: Brandon Royval Vs. Joshua Van
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: Brandon Royval reacts after a victory against Tatsuro Taira of Japan … More
First things first, Joshua Van has nothing to lose in this matchup and everything to gain. If he beats Royval, he gives himself an excellent chance to score a shot at the winner of the UFC 317 co-main event matchup between UFC flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France. If Van loses, he’ll walk away from T-Mobile Arena with the type of high-level experience that he and his team can build upon to make him a better overall fighter.
Under ideal circumstances, Van would have had a full camp to fight an opponent ranked between No. 5 and No. 10 following his UFC 316 win. But we know UFC fighters don’t always get to compete under ideal circumstances, so Van and Royval find themselves in a fight that neither gets a real opportunity to prepare for.
With the way this booking came to be, it benefits the more experienced and more well-rounded fighter, which is Royval. The betting pick is for Royval to hold onto his No. 1 ranking in the UFC flyweight division by turning away another young, rising prospect. Look for Royval to win via decision.
We will have more on the UFC 317 Royval vs. Van bout as fight night nears, as well as live results, reactions, highlights and more for the UFC 317 pay-per-view card on fight night.
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