Brandon Royval Shares Raw Emotions After Gritty Win Over Brandon Moreno In Mexico City

"It was just cool to be in Mexico, man," Royval said on the UFC Mexico City post-fight show. "This is a dream come true. I don't get to travel the world often. I've never been around or anything. The fact that I get to live my dream and travel the world is just the coolest s*** ever."

Brandon Royval Says He Was 'In A Dark Place' Before Win Over Brandon Moreno 

It was the second time Royval and Moreno faced off, with Royval getting stopped in one round in their original encounter at UFC 255.

Moreno had his way early on with leg kicks and counterstriking, but soon, Royval's pressure and punches began to heat up. As Royval worked his jab and threw combinations, Moreno struggled to keep Royval down with the few takedowns he landed during the fight. Moreno found success with overhand shots in the later rounds, but Royval continued to fire away with punches in bunches.

It was a closely combated fight, but Royval ultimately got the split decision in the end.

For Royval, this fight was everything he needed to re-motivate himself after feeling dejected from losing to Pantoja.

"I just needed to pull myself out of a dark place," Royval said. "I was not doing good mentally. They offered me this fight, and I've never been so...I need something like that. I needed an opportunity. I needed a main event, so there's something to drag me out of bed. Going to Mexico and fighting Brandon Moreno's a privilege. He's scary, and I'm in the back room, and it's like...you know you're in for a war at best."

Now with the win over Moreno here, could a second chance at flyweight gold be in Royval's immediate future?