Brandon Royval hands Tatsuro Taira his first loss in main event

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval held off one of the most talented prospects in his division Saturday as he handed Tatsuro Taira his first professional loss via split decision.

Royval (17-7) outlasted Taira (16-1) in a back-and-forth flyweight contest in the main event of UFC Fight Night inside the UFC's Apex facility in Las Vegas. Royval hurt Taira multiple times on the feet but found himself in plenty of bad positions on the floor. Two of the three judges scored the 125-pound division fight 48-47 in favor of Royval, while a third had it 48-47 for Taira.

Immediately afterward, Royval, 32, praised the skills of his opponent and referred to him as a future champion, before calling for his own title shot.

"I thought I was going to take him to school," Royval said. "I thought I was going to take him out in the first round. Taira, if you ever need anything, I'm here for you. You're gonna become a champion someday. I'll be there for you, bro. ... I have beat everybody in the top 5. I get that title shot next."

It was essentially a tale of striker vs. grappler in the main event as Taira had plenty of success on the ground but was visibly overmatched on his feet. Royval lit up the Japanese prospect with punches on the feet, particularly in the third round, but Taira answered later in the round with a takedown and a rear-naked choke attempt.

According to UFC Stats, Royval outlanded Taira in strikes landed 165-73, but Taira racked up over 12 minutes of control time on top. In the fifth round, Royval's experience proved critical as he was able to reverse an early takedown by Taira and dominate position in the final five minutes. That reversal and control time ultimately earned him a victory in a very closely contested bout.

Taira, 24, has plenty of time to rebound from the setback. He was heavily favored to get the victory but is one of the youngest contenders in the division at age 24. Royval, of Denver, improved to 5-1 in his past six bouts. His last appearance before Saturday was a split decision win against former champion Brandon Moreno .

Current champion Alexandre Pantoja is scheduled to defend his belt against Kai Asakura at UFC 310 in December.