What’s next for Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno after UFC Mexico City?

In the main event of UFC Mexico City, top three flyweights threw down as Brandon Moreno took on Brandon Royval in a rematch from their 2020 fight.

Moreno entered the fight coming off a decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja in July to lose his flyweight title. Royval, meanwhile, also lost to Pantoja by decision back in December for the flyweight title.

Ultimately, it was Brandon Royval who edged out a split decision to avenge his 2020 loss to Moreno as he suffered a shoulder injury in the first round. Following UFC Mexico City, here is what I think should be next for both fighters involved in the main event.

Brandon Royval

Brandon Royval is the number one contender after beating Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City, in a fight he also took on short notice.

However, given that Royval just lost to Pantoja, which was his second loss to the champ, and it was one-sided, he will likely need another win to get a title shot. With that said, there is no other clear-cut contender outside of Royval for Pantoja in May, especially with Amir Albazi pulling out of this fight against Moreno.

So, with no other real contender in the cards, it’s likely that Royval will head to Brazil for his trilogy with Pantoja in May for the flyweight title.

Brandon Moreno

Brandon Moreno is now on a two-fight losing streak and his time as a flyweight contender could be over following this loss on Saturday.

Moreno will need to fight people behind him and string together multiple wins in a row to get another crack at the belt. A logical next fight is to face the winner of Muhammad Mokaev vs. Alex Perez on Saturday.

If Mokaev wins, it would be a good test for the undefeated flyweight prospect who has been calling himself a future champion. But, if Perez wins, the fight makes sense as the two were supposed to fight in 2020, but Perez got elevated to face Deiveson Figueiredo for the belt while Moreno fought Royval for the first time.