After beating champion Brandon Moreno, Denver's own Brandon Royval claimed the title of No. 1 contender in the UFC's flyweight division. That means in May, Royval will have his shot at the championship at UFC 301 in May.
However, Brandon's dream's are bigger than a championship belt. He wants to create a better world by harnessing the power of Colorado's kids.
His passion stems from knowing what life would be like without mixed martial arts.
“I feel like MMA gave me a purpose and an identity," said Royval, who's spent the last 15 years training for these kinds of moments. "It gave me a reason of being. It pulled me out of a lot of place that I could have been, a lot of possible trouble.”
In years past, Royval needed to carry a second job to support his dream of fighting in the UFC. One of those jobs was at the Lookout Juvenile Correctional Facility.
What he saw there was untapped potential, and it sparked his drive to reach kids.
“When you work in the juvenile facility for years you see kids that are actually leaders," Royval said. "Maybe they’re not using their leadership for the best reasons. Instead of being on the side of where they messed up and where the problems occur, being on the preventative side I think is what will make the biggest difference."
That motivation led him to the Denver Dream Center, a group dedicated to helping people rebuild their lives and restore their dreams by providing free resources and services that address immediate and long-term needs in the areas of homelessness, hunger, poverty, addiction, abuse, and education and assisting those transitioning from various levels of incarceration.
Every Wednesdsay night the Dream Center hosts a safe space called "Vibe Night" for young people to drop in and hang out.
Royval is there every Wednesday.
“Humbled," he said. "I’m constantly being humbled.”
In addition to admittedly losing in a lot of the games they play, Royval provides a shining example of dreams realized to the kids he works so hard to connect with.
“Anything’s possible really," Royval said. "I’m making my dreams come true. I became number one off of hard work and consistency."
"They can definitely see that through me because they’re not seeing an athlete at all,” he said with a wry smile.
Someday, Royval would like to open his own space where kids could learn the martial arts. That way he could dedicate more of his time and resources to keeping kids out of that juvenile facility.
“Having that open to you, having a high-level facility at a cheap rate would be ideal for me," said Royval. "In the future that’s something I want to open up. A safe haven, a place where kids can learn martial arts and get away you know.”
Until then, Brandon Royval will keep fighting – and winning – inside and outside of the UFC octagon.
