UFC 255: Brandon Royval separates shoulder and coach pops it back in after defeat by Brandon Moreno
- ‘Raw Dog’ verbally submits with one second remaining in first round after freak injury in featured prelim bout
- No 1-ranked flyweight Moreno calls for title shot and says Cody Garbrandt doesn’t deserve it – ‘I don’t know what else I have to do’
Brandon Moreno unequivocally earned a flyweight title shot at UFC 255 after a first-round finish of Brandon Royval, who was left screaming in agony after separating his shoulder.
“Raw Dog” tried to cling on to make it to the second round after the freak accident on the ground, but the pain was too much and he submitted verbally with one second left in the first round of the featured preliminary bout.
The 28-year-old American Royval (12-5), ranked sixth in the division, had been on a tear with two submissions wins over Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France after debuting in the UFC this year.
But it is the No 1-ranked Moreno (18-5) of Mexico who will now likely meet the winner of Saturday night’s main event between champ Deiveson Figueiredo and Alex Perez.
Referee Marc Goddard had kept Royval on the ground as he writhed in pain following the finish, until doctors could tend to him. Royval’s coach Marc Montoya was on hand to then pop his shoulder back into place.