UFC Vegas 98 results: Matches to make for ‘Royval vs Taira’ main card winners

UFC Vegas 98 went down last night (Sat., Oct. 12, 2024) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, which saw Brandon Royval defeat Tatsuro Taira after 25 minutes of action on one of the best fights of the year, which resulted in “Raw Dog” winning via split-decision. In the co-main event, Jun Yong Park defeated Brad Tavares, also via split-decision, while Grant Dawson secured an impressive technical knockout (TKO) win over Rafa Garcia in main card action (replay here).

Winner: Brandon Royval

Who He Should Face Next: Pantoja vs Asakura winner

In one of the best 2024, Royval did enough to escape the UFC Apex with a split-decision win over the previously-unbeaten Tatsuro Taira. Afterward, he called for a title fight, and I am not opposed to it. It was recently announced that division king, Alexandre Pantoja would defended his title against Kai Asakura, the former RIZIN champion who will be making his debut for the promotion at UFC 310 on Dec. 10, 2024. Royval has a loss to Pantoja, so I’m sure he’d love to get that rematch back in a title fight, though a bout between “Raw Dog” and Asakura would be nice, as well.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Winner: Park Jun Yong

Who He Should Face Next: Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov winner

Yong has quietly won five of his last six fights inside the Octagon, including his razor-thin split-decision win over Brad Tavares last night. “The Iron Turtle” is slowly making a run toward a Top 15 ranking, and a couple more wins could get him there for the first time. I would like to see him take on the winner of the upcoming bout between Chris Curtis and Roman Kopylov — who are set to collide on Jan. 11, 2025 — would be a good option for his next bout.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Winner: Chidi Njokuani

Who He Should Face Next: Song Kenan

Njokuani secured his second straight win by defeating Jared Gooden via unanimous decision, giving his his first back-to-back win streak in two years. A fight against Kenan sounds about right for his next outing. Kenan is coming off a win over Ricky Glenn at UFC 305 and like Njokuani, is 2-3 in his last five UFC fights.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Winner: Grant Dawson

Who He Should Fight Next: Drakkar Klose

Following his technical knockout (TKO) win over Rafa Garcia last night (see it again here), Dawson improved his UFC record to 10-1-1 — and got his wife a lot more Instagram followers thanks to his post-fight remark about her “sum truck.” As far as the fighting business, goes a fight against Drakkar Klose may be in order. During the post-fight presser, he called for a fight against a ranked opponent, which seems unlikely at this point. His other option was Klose, who is riding a four-fight win streak, including his most recent win against Joaquim Silva at UFC 301.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Winner: Daniel Rodriguez

Who He Should Face Next: Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin winner

Rodrigues earned a new lease on his UFC life by defeating Alex Morono via split-decision, snapping his three-fight win streak. With the win, Rodriguez snaps his three-fight losing streak. Up next for “D-Rod,” perhaps a showdown against the winner of the upcoming showdown between Max Griffin and Michael Chiesa, who are in line to be throw down at UFC 310 on Dec. 10 is in order.

For complete UFC Vegas 98 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.