Alexandre Pantoja makes his first defence of the UFC flyweight title when he takes on Brandon Royval at UFC 296 tonight.
Pantoja won the title via a split decision win against Brandon Moreno back in July. That was his fourth victory in a row and his second against Moreno.
The Brazilian now looks to claim his second fight against Royval, whom he beat in August 2021. Royval has since gone on to win three straight bouts, and he'll look to earn a bit of vengeance along with Pantoja's belt when they square off in Las Vegas.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Pantoja vs. Royval.
When is the Pantoja v Royval fight tonight? Date, start time
- Date: Saturday, December 16
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 3 a.m. UK
- Pantoja v Royval cagewalks (approx): 12:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. UK
The main card is set to get underway at 10 p.m. ET / 3 a.m. UK with the main event cagewalks scheduled for 12:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. UK. These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
What channel/stream is Pantoja v Royval on tonight?
- U.S.: ESPN+ PPV
- UK: TNT Sports
Fans in the U.S. will be able to purchase the fight on ESPN+ PPV (click here for more information), while TNT Sports will broadcast the fight in the UK.
Where is the Pantoja v Royval fight tonight?
The fight will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Alexandre Pantoja record and bio
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Date of birth: April 16, 1990
- Height: 6' 5"
- Reach: 67"
- Total fights: 31
- Record: 26-5-0
Brandon Royval record and bio
- Nationality: American
- Date of birth: August 16, 1992
- Height: 5' 9"
- Reach: 68"
- Total fights: 21
- Record: 15-6-0
Pantoja v Royval fight card
Main Card
- Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington; For Edwards' UFC welterweight championship
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval; For Pantoja's UFC flyweight championship
- Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson; Welterweight
- Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett; Lightweight
Prelims
- Josh Emmett vs. Bryce Mitchell; Featherweight
- Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa; Women's bantamweight
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher; Bantamweight
- Casey O'Neill vs. Arianne Lipski; Women's flyweight
Early prelims
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Dustin Jacoby; Light heavyweight
- Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Cody Durden; Flyweight
- Andre Fili vs. Lucas Almeida; Featherweight
- Martin Buday vs. Shamil Gaziev; Heavyweight
- Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov; Welterweight