Outside Source
Royval headlined the UFC’s last event of 2025 against Manel Kape last Saturday in Las Vegas. Royval suffered a first-round knockout loss against Kape, although the former title contender protested the stoppage.
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Weighing in on Royval’s latest performance, Mokaev says he never thought very highly of “Raw Dawg.” While studying tape for his fight against Charles Johnson in 2022, Mokaev recalls watching Royval being taken down nine times by Johnson, who is primarily a striker. Mokaev doesn’t think Royval is on par with elite flyweight fighters like himself. “The Punisher” considers Royval a gatekeeper at 125 pounds.
Never Impressed
“I never rated that guy highly,” Mokaev told Jaiden Cable. “I think this is the easiest fight in the flyweight division. I remember watching him when I was supposed to fight Charles Johnson, I was watching the fight on LFA, and Charles Johnson took him down nine times. And Charles Johnson is a striker. This guy is not on our level, he is a gatekeeper.”
Royval (17-9) came up short in his title shot opportunity against Alexandre Pantoja in 2023. After rebounding with wins over Tatsuro Taira and Brandon Moreno, Royval has now dropped consecutive bouts against Joshua Van and Kape.
Meanwhile, Mokaev’s (15-0) UFC career unexpectedly came to an end with a victory over Kape last year. Rumors suggested that the undefeated Dagestan-born Brit’s contract wasn’t renewed due to behavioral issues after multiple scuffles in the lead up to his fight against Kape. However, Mokaev claims he received prior warnings to make his grappling-heavy style more fan-friendly to continue in the UFC. Mokaev subsequently signed up with Brave Combat Federation, while also picking up a win at Karate Combat. Mokaev won the inaugural Brave flyweight title with a head kick knockout win over Gerard Burns last month.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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