Joshua Van Stuns Brandon Royval in Epic Fight of the Year Contender – UFC 317 Highlights
Joshua Van scored his second win in three weeks, defeating Brandon Royval in an absolute war at UFC 317.
It was a slow start from Van as Royval kept him at bay early on with a combination of jabs and calf kicks. Before long, Van finally started to find his way inside, tagging ‘Raw Dawg’ with a stiff right hand. 90 seconds left in the opening round, Van caught Royval with a right that took the former title challenger off his feet.
Royval threw significantly more strikes throughout the first, but it was Van who landed the more substantial shots.
Things really started to open up in the second round, with Royval landing at a significantly higher clip compared to the first round. But for every strike that ‘Raw Dawg’ landed, Van had an answer. With 20 seconds to go, Van connected with a booming right hand that stumbled Royval.
Undeterred, Royval came right back with a combination, only to be met with another right from the Myanmar star.
With the fight potentially tied up, Royval and Van kept their feet on the gas, delivering one of the more memorable striking battles of 2025. Royval bit down on his mouthpiece as he closed the distance, but ended up eating a big right hand from Van. Royval flashed a smile as he got right back to work.
Royval turns it up halfway through the third, but Van lands a counter that backs up Royval, forcing him to take a moment to reset. Another combination from Van lands, but Royval refused to back down, connecting with a combo of his own.
With 10 seconds, Van uncorked a massive right hand that sent Royval crashing to the canvas. With timing running out, Van desperately rained down a slew of ground-and-pound strikes, but was unable to put away ‘Raw Dawg’ before the final horn.
Official Result: Joshua Van def. Brandon Royval via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
