Getty Brandon Royval.
Flyweights will be in focus at UFC 255, starting with the prelims where a fight between Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno headlines the early slate of scraps.
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In the United States, the early prelims (6:30 p.m. ET) and prelims (8 p.m. ET) will be televised on ESPN2, but if you don’t have cable, anyone in the US can watch all the UFC 255 prelim fights live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ has live coverage of nearly every UFC Fight Night and prelim card, as well as dozens of other live sports. It also includes every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Additionally, if you plan on also watching the UFC 255 PPV, you can buy the PPV and a year of ESPN+ for 84.98, which works out to just over 25 percent savings:
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch the UFC 255 prelims live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the fights on your computer via ESPN.com.
UFC 255 Prelims Preview
The flyweight division will look different after UFC 255, and that begins in the prelims, where two top 10 contenders clash in Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno.
Moreno is the No. 2 contender and could have been a foot-in for the main event against Deiveson Figueiredo. Instead, he gets the showcase spot on the prelim card against Royval, the No. 6 contender in his own right.
“I’ve always wanted to prove something, and I always step in the cage to make a statement,” Moreno said during Hablemos MMA. “I want to make that night mine. … I want my fight to be over, win, and be like, you know what? Turn off your TV because the main event just went down, and you guys didn’t even realize it. You guys can leave happy because the good fight just happened.”
Royval knows he’s in for a long and tough challenge, but has a shot, having submitted his last four opponents three different ways. However, this is just Royval’s third UFC bout.
“I get it I am jumping the rankings. You guys don’t know me yet, you guys know nothing about me. I like that and I get that. Keep betting against me it makes sense if you bet statistics and you don’t know anything about this dude, bet against him for sure,” Royval said, per BJPENN.com. “That being said, do your homework. How is he going to beat me? Is he going to sub me? No, that is not a f—— option. Is he going to knock me out? Brandon Moreno hasn’t knocked anybody out that is not an option either. I mean if you are betting on a finish I wouldn’t be betting him.”
Another fighter on the prelim card fight fans are looking forward to seeing is Joaquin Buckley, who executed what might be the knockout of the year last time he was in the octagon.
“Basically, in my opinion, he’s made himself immortal,” Buckley’s cornerman Micheal Gillmore told ESPN. “That knockout, for as long as the UFC is around — which I imagine will be for the rest of time — that particular kick and knockout will always be in consideration for one of the top, if not the top, knockout.”
UFC 255 Full Card
MAIN CARD
Title fight: Deiveson Figueiredo (125) vs. Alex Perez (124.5)
Title fight: Valentina Shevchenko (124.5) vs. Jennifer Maia (124.5)
Tim Means (171) vs. Mike Perry (175.5)
Cynthia Calvillo (124.5) vs. Katlyn Chookagian (125.75)
Paul Craig (205.5) vs. Mauricio Rua (205.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Brandon Moreno (125) vs. Brandon Royval (125.5)
Joaquin Buckley (182.5) vs. Jordan Wright (185)
Ariane Lipski (126) vs. Antonina Shevchenko (125)
Nicolas Dalby (170) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (170.5)
Jared Gooden (171) vs. Alan Jouban (170.5)
Kyle Daukaus (185.5) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (184.5)
Louis Cosce (170) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (170.5)