Lone’er Kavanagh and Brandon Royval meet on the UFC 329 main card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
-
Last event’s results: 5-1
-
UFC main cards, 2026: 69-37-1
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval UFC 329 preview
Kavanagh (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) picked up a huge short-notice win in February against former champion Brandon Moreno. That win not only put him on the map among the top contenders, but it was also a successful rebound from the first setback of his career, which came against Charles Johnson last August.
Advertisement
Royval (17-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has challenged for the division’s title in 2023, but has since gone 2-2, with both losses being his last pair of outings against now-champion Joshua Van and top contender Manel Kape. His last two wins were split decisions over Moreno and Tatsuro Taira.
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval UFC 329 expert pick, prediction
Serving as a solid offering at men’s flyweight is a battle between Brandon Royval and Lone’er Kavanagh.
Advertisement
Royval, who is making his first appearance of the year, is jumping right back into the mix to hold the proverbial door and protect his Top 5 ranking spot. And though Royval sounds ultra-prepared to step back into the octagon, I still have a hard time trusting his chances given both his current opposition and the point he is at in his career.
Royval claims not to cut a ton of weight to make 125 pounds, but history has shown that durability can be a growing flag for long and lanky fighters who continue to cut down to the lighter divisions later in their careers.
Add in the speed edge and room for potential improvements on the Kavanagh side, and I can’t help but roll with the Chinese-Irish fighter in this spot.
Advertisement
The pick is for Kavanagh to earn a somewhat surprising stoppage late into Round 2.
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval UFC 329 odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the younger fighter, listing Kavanagh -220 and Royval +186 via FanDuel.
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval UFC 329 start time, how to watch
Kavanagh and Royval are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:40 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval prediction, pick for UFC 329
