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

Royval (17-7) defeated Taira (16-1) in a back-and-forth flyweight contest in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. Royval injured Taira’s feet several times, but found himself in many bad positions on the ground. Two of the three judges scored the 125-pound division bout 48-47 in Royval’s favor, while a third scored it 48-47 in Taira’s favor.

Immediately afterwards, the 32-year-old Royval praised his opponent’s skills and described him as a future champion before demanding his own title shot.

“I thought I was taking him to school,” Royval said. “I thought I would knock him out in the first round. Taira, if you ever need anything, I’m here for you. You will become a champion one day. I’ll be there for you, brother. . ..I beat everyone in the top 5. Next I get the chance for the title.”

It was essentially a striker versus wrestler story in the main event, as Taira had a lot of success on the ground but was visibly outmatched on her feet. Royval lit up the Japanese opponent with punches to the feet, particularly in the third round, but Taira responded later in the round with a takedown and a rear-naked choke attempt.

According to UFC statistics, Royval outshot Taira 165:73, but Taira scored more than 12 minutes of control time on top. In the fifth round, Royval’s experience proved crucial as he was able to reverse an early takedown from Taira and dominate position in the final five minutes. This reversal and control time ultimately earned him victory in a very hard-fought battle.

Taira, 24, has enough time to recover from the setback. He was considered a heavy favorite to win, but at 24 years old he is one of the youngest contenders in the division. Denver’s Royval improved to 5-1 in his last six fights. His last appearance before Saturday was a split decision win over former champion Brandon Moreno.

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