Brandon Royval taps Lone'er Kavanagh with rear-naked choke at UFC 329

Brandon Royval submitted Lone'er Kavanagh with a rear-naked choke in the third round at UFC 329, capping a chaotic flyweight war Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The finish came at 3:40 of round three after both men had hurt each other multiple times across the 15-minute fight. Royval controlled early with his jab and caught Kavanagh's kicks for counters, then landed a takedown and chipped away with elbows before the horn, according to MMA Fighting's live blog.

Kavanagh nearly finishes Royval in second round

Kavanagh reversed the momentum in the second with a perfectly timed counter right hand that dropped Royval hard. The rising contender followed to the mat with heavy punches and cutting elbows as Royval shifted into survival mode, MMA Mania reported. Bloodied and rocked again by another elbow, Royval somehow weathered the storm and closed the round with pressure.

Royval took over in the final stanza despite eating more heavy shots early. He dragged Kavanagh to the canvas and returned the favor with elbows of his own. Kavanagh gave up his back trying to escape an arm-triangle choke, and Royval locked in the rear-naked choke. With no escape available, Kavanagh tapped.

"I smoke rocks, Joe Rogan," Royval joked afterward, per MMA Fighting. "Me and this boy deserve a bonus. That's a future champion right there. I'm a master of chaos. I wish I fought prettier but that's not how I do it."

Royval called out Asu Almabayev in his post-fight interview. The former title challenger had dropped his previous two to current champion Joshua Van and top contender Manel Kape, making the finish crucial for his ranking at 125 pounds. Kavanagh entered off a decision win over two-time champion Brandon Moreno in Mexico City in February.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — UFC 329 video: Brandon Royval taps Lone’er Kavanagh with rear-naked choke after wild back-and-forth fight
• MMA Fighting — UFC 329 live blog: Brandon Royval vs. Lone’er Kavanagh
• MMA Mania — Highlights! Brandon Royval chokes out Lone’er Kavanagh after bloody brawl | UFC 329