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- What: UFC 317
- Who: Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van
- Date: Saturday, June 28, 2025
- Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
- Time: Early Prelims (6:00 p.m ET), Prelims (8:00 p.m. ET), Pay-Per-View Card (10:00 p.m. ET)
- How to Watch: Early Prelims (ESPN+) Prelims (ESPN+), Main Card (ESPN+ PPV)
The highlight of the UFC’s 2025 edition of International Fight Week is the UFC 317 pay-per-view card, which takes place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the main event of UFC 317, Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira battle for the vacant UFC lightweight title. A second title fight serves as the UFC 317 co-main event. In that contest, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja faces the No. 4 ranked 125-pound contender Kai Kara-France. Before those bouts, fans get a high-stakes flyweight matchup between No. 1 ranked Brandon Royval and No. 11 ranked Joshua Van.
Brandon Royval (17-7), a former UFC flyweight title challenger, is 5-1 dating back to January 2022. Royval’s only loss during that time was his December 2023 decision setback to Pantoja in a title fight. He is riding a two-fight winning streak.
Joshua Van (14-2) was not initially booked for this event, but when Manel Kape withdrew from his fight with Royval because of injury, Van quickly accepted the short-notice scrap. Van is 4-0 dating back to September 2024 and 7-1 in the UFC.
Before we look at the best bets for Brandon Royval vs. Beneil Dariush on the UFC 317 PPV card, check out the best UFC betting sites and where you can find our betting picks for the UFC 317 main event.
UFC 317: Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van betting picks
UFC 317: Brandon Royval betting breakdown
This is a dangerous fight for Brandon Royval. The No. 1 ranked UFC flyweight has wins over former champ Brandon Moreno and rising star Tatsuro Taira since losing to Pantoja in 2023. He needs to dominate the surging but unproven Van at UFC 317, which could be a big ask since he will not have a full camp to prepare for his opponent’s game plan on Saturday. A loss to Van will be a disaster for Royval since Pantoja dominated him in their title fight.
Royval is a fighter with excellent cardio, which enable him to set a fast pace that some fighters struggle with. He has high-level striking, great grappling, and scrambles, and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents in the hopes of finding openings for a finish. He is good everywhere, but his takedown defense is somewhat suspect. Royval has a four-inch height advantage and a three-inch reach advantage in this matchup.
Royval’s only UFC losses have come to Pantoja (twice) and Moreno. If he wants to hold onto his top ranking he needs a strong performance.
Royval lands an average of 4.46 significant strikes per 15 minutes with an accuracy of 39 percent. His striking defense is 47 percent, and he gets hit 3.06 times per 60 seconds. Royval lands 0.75 takedowns per 15 minutes with an accuracy of 75 percent. His takedown defense is 45 percent.
UFC 317: Joshua Van betting breakdown
Although he is only 23, Joshua Van is a former Fury FC flyweight champion. He has also fought eight times with the UFC since signing with the promotion in 2023. Van is a work in progress because of his age and inexperience against high-level opposition, but he has looked better each time he has stepped into the Octagon. In an ideal world, he would have a full camp to prepare for his next fight, but this matchup against the No. 1 flyweight was too good to refuse following his June 7 knockout win over Bruno Silva. The fear is that Royval is too much, too soon for Van.
Van is already a high-level striker. Not only does he have striking skills, but his patience and composure under fire are evident. In addition to his striking, he has grappling skills and can find openings in scrambles. The problem with Van is the last time he faced a striker with cardio and a good chin; he got knocked out by Charles Johnson in the third round.
On a positive note, at his age and experience level, Van has nothing to lose in this matchup. At the very least, facing Royval now will give Van and his team an idea as to where he truly stands in the UFC flyweight pecking order.
Van lands 8.20 significant strikes per minute with a success rate of 54 percent. He gets hit 5.26 times per minute and has a striking defense of 59 percent. Van averages 0.96 takedowns per 15 minutes with an accuracy of 63 percent. His takedown defense is 81 percent.
Best Bets: UFC 317 – Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van
Expect a fast paced start to this contest. However things should settle down quickly. Once that happens, expect the veteran Royval to slowly pull away from Van and show that he is a level or two above his foe in overall MMA skills.
The betting pick is for Brandon Royval to beat Joshua Van via decision at UFC 317.
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