Brandon Royval Surprised by Shifting Odds for UFC 317 Bout Against Joshua Van

Brandon Royval (17-7) isn’t surprised to have opened as an underdog against Joshua Van (14-2). 

Royval was originally scheduled to fight Manel Kape at UFC 317 on June 28 in Las Vegas. However, Kape was forced out with a foot fracture and will be replaced by Joshua Van, who just fought at UFC 316 earlier this month. 

While Van is riding a four-fight winning streak, Royval will be a huge step up in competition for the only UFC fighter from Myanmar. However, Royval opened up as a slight +120 underdog against Van, who opened as a -125 favorite. However, the odds have since shifted as bettors are siding with Royval, turning him into a slight -128 favorite.

Rather than being surprised by his initial underdog status, Royval is more surprised by the shift in odds. Royval notes that he has opened as an underdog for most of his UFC career and has upset the odds more often than not. Royval recalls being a massive underdog for his latest upset win against Tatsuro Taira, despite the Japanese prospect not having faced as elite competition before.

“I know I started off like a +220 or plus something crazy… I’m not surprised by anything anymore,” Royval told Home of Fight. “I think I’ve been a +350 in all my fights in the last year. I’m actually surprised they ended up evening it out. You said they evened out a little bit… I’m more surprised by that. I don’t know what it is about me. I think the Vegas oddsmakers or whatever the f—k it is, hate me. And [against Tatsuro] Taira, I was a +350. And I couldn’t understand that. All the respect in the world to Taira but his best win wasn’t even close to my worst win.” 

Royval has only lost to current flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja and former champ Brandon Moreno in the UFC. Royval came up short in a title bid against Pantoja in 2023, which was his second loss against “The Cannibal.” “Raw Dawg” bounced back by avenging his previous loss against Moreno, followed by the win over Taira. Meanwhile, Van has lost only once in eight UFC outings and is fresh off an impressive stoppage win over Bruno Silva at UFC 316.