Outside Source
Van and Royval received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their memorable flyweight slugfest at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. While Royval (215 significant strikes) held a slight advantage over Van (204) in volume, the 23-year-old Myanmar native landed the more powerful blows — including a third-round knockdown — to earn a unanimous decision triumph. In addition to the bonus, Van appears to be the next No. 1 contender at 125 pounds.
Joshua Van BEATS Brandon Royval IN ONE OF THE BEST FIGHTS OF THE YEAR SO FAR 👏
His second UFC victory in the last three weeks 🔥 #UFC317 pic.twitter.com/xZRrqxpLdp
— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2025
Topuria Get $50K, Vacant Lightweight Belt
Meanwhile, newly-crowned lightweight champion Ilia Topuria pocketed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira in the evening’s main event. A two-punch combination sent “do Bronxs” to the canvas, and Topuria sealed the victory with a couple follow-up strikes, claiming the vacant 155-pound belt in the process.
Finally, Gregory Rodrigues captured the evening’s final $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for a vicious knockout of Jack Hermansson in a preliminary middleweight tilt. A left hook from the Brazilian rendered Hermansson unconscious, and Rodrigues added one violent hammerfist for good measure to seal the victory at the 4:21 mark of the opening round.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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