“I Wasn’t Formulating Sentences” – Brandon Royval Makes a Scary Confession on Concussions Forcing Manel Kape Fight Rebooking

“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pull out of my fight. I’m sorry to Manel Kape and my fans. I’m facing an injury that has me questioning when I’ll be able to train again. This is absolutely a fight I think needs to happen for the flyweight division but as of right now competing [next] month has been ill-advised,” UFC flyweight star Brandon Royval said in an X post in February, three weeks from his scheduled UFC Vegas 103 clash against surging Angola born 125-pounder, Manel Kape.

This was a shame for both men. After all, most saw it as a virtual title eliminator with the winner having the best case to fight Alexandre Pantoja next. Royval, of course, has already fought the Brazilian champ twice, while the 31-year-old Kape would have earned his first title shot if he beat ‘Raw Dawg’. However, as you can tell from the quote above, the American had to pull out. In a recent interview with ‘Inside Fighting’, Royval revealed that he had suffered two concussions within a short period, and the second of these was so severe that he chose to pull out.

Just how severe was the second concussion? Well, the former title contender paints a pretty dire picture. “I pulled out of the fight ’cause I don’t really believe in like, I believe there’s levels to concussions. And I’m not saying I believe, that’s just facts, like there’s levels of concussion. Like, you know, like a minor headaches, all that stuff. My concussion was so severe that, like, originally I wasn’t formulating sentences well,” Royval said.

Like I wasn’t recalling. Like me and you would be in a conversation and I would be like starting to talk and I would forget what I was saying mid-sentence. And that was like the first time week and that was like the first bad symptoms of like [a serious concussion]. My eyes weren’t tracking and that was like the weirdest thing of all… On top of getting like headaches constantly. I would get like a headache at least three times a day,” he added.

So, in short, the concussion was pretty severe, as the symptoms point to his cognitive abilities being seriously impaired. Going through a weight cut when his brain is still recovering and facing a dangerous striker like Kape, the American wisely thought it better to pull out. And in good news for Royval (and indeed Kape), their much-awaited clash has been rescheduled.

Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape banger rescheduled for UFC 317

Brandon Royval and Manel Kape will indeed fight it out for a possible shot at the 125-pound title, but they will be doing so on UFC 317 this International Fight Week in June. A fully recovered Royval is a very exciting matchup for Kape. ‘Raw Dawg, of course, has a remarkably well-rounded game, capable of holding his own against the other top strikers.

But the lightning-quick and powerful Kape’s striking would be a real challenge for the American contender. On the other hand, Royval holds a clear advantage on the ground, with the BJJ black belt having a stifling ground game capable of taking the Portuguese national down and mauling him there. The former Rizin champ is coming off a dominant win against Asu Almabayev via knockout at the same March 1 card where he was supposed to slug it out against Royval.

This upcoming International Fight Week fight could put Kape atop the division, up there with the big boys like Brandon Moreno and Royval. Or if he loses, it would show people that the dynamo still needs some work before he is ready to fight for the title. As far as Royval is concerned, he has already proven how good he is, with his recent losses coming to reigning and former champions Pantoja and Royval. What do you think about Brandon Royval’s revelations about the seriousness of his concussion?