“I doubt in any world, man, Kape trains harder than me, works harder than me,” Royval said. “I’m going to make that fool work. [He’s] going to have to work the first round, second round, and if you make it to third, fourth and fifth, you’re going to be drowned. That’s always kind of been my goal with fighting Kape is just, I’m going to drag him down a dark alley for a little bit, and then then I’ll rob him. I’m not going to just go straight right off the bat. I’m going to have to drag him to hell with me a little bit, and that’s kind of my career anyways.”
It wasn’t long ago Royval was the fresh face hoping to stick around for a couple fights and walking around the fighter hotel startstruck like when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua walked past him while Royval gave an interview. Now, Royval is that veteran with championship experience. He’s the one offering to help Taira when Taira visits Denver, and Royval will happily root for the Okinawa-born star should he fight for gold eventually.
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But Royval would like to slide into that position first. He is older, anyway, and his track record speaks for itself. In UFC’s final event of 2025, “Raw Dawg” has a simple message in mind.
“They’re going to say, ‘Oh shit. We forgot again. We forgot what the f***’s up,'” he said. “I feel like every time I’m getting shit on or like everybody thinks I’m gonna lose and it’s like, I have 11 fights in the UFC, 10 of them, [and] I’ve been an underdog [every time] and one time I’ve been a favorite. That’s crazy. F*** you guys. Whatever.”
