Askarov and Royval, who meet on the main card of UFC Fight Night 212 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, find themselves in a similar place—the flyweight Top 10—but on different trajectories. Royval enters “UFC Vegas 62” with positive momentum, hoping to extend a two-fight win streak to three at the expense of Askarov, who will endeavor to get back on track after suffering his first Octagon loss in March. As a matchup of two of the more well-rounded offensive fighters in the division, the action could go in any number of directions, and the only confident projection is that “Fight of the Night” is probably on lock.
As “Bullet” and “Raw Dawg” prepare to get wild, a look at the numbers that have defined their careers so far:
30: Years of age for Askarov, who was born Oct. 9, 1992 , in Kamysh-Kutan, a small farming village in the Republic of Dagestan.
15: Fights without a loss to begin Askarov’s career. “Bullet” won 11 straight, capturing the Absolute Championship Berkut [now Akhmat] title and defending it twice, before signing with the UFC and fighting to a split draw in his debut against Moreno. He then won his next three in a row, a streak that was snapped by Kai Kara-France at UFC on ESPN 33 on Mar. 26 of this year.
7: Career submissions by Askarov, to go with four wins by knockout or technical knockout. A finishing machine on the Russian and CIS regional scene, Askarov’s draw with Moreno was also the first time he had gone the distance as a professional. Since then, all of his fights have gone to decision.
30: Birthdays so far for Royval, who was born on Aug. 6, 1992 , in Denver, Colorado. A true homegrown talent, Royval has trained for years at Factory X in nearby Englewood, just south of downtown Denver.
8: Appearances by Royval in Legacy Fighting Alliance. He went 6-2, fighting for the LFA flyweight belt twice and winning it in his second try. He would got get the chance to defend his hardware, however, as he was signed by the UFC soon thereafter.
$150,000: Declared UFC bonus payouts for Royval, who has won “Fight of the Night” honors three times in his six UFC appearances. Notably, all three came in bouts won by Royval.
4: UFC opponents in common for Royval and Askarov, representing a majority of both men’s Octagon ledgers. Against mutual foes Moreno, Tim Elliott, Kai Kara France and Alexandre Pantoja, Askarov is 2-1-1 while Royval is 2-2, and the only common outcome is their matching wins over Elliott.