Robelis Despaigne is somehow back in the UFC.
On Friday, Despaigne, the Cuban heavyweight, was announced by First Round Management, his agency, to have re-signed with the world’s largest MMA promotion. He is coming off a monstrous eight-win streak, having knocked out former UFC champion Junior dos Santos in Netflix’s MMA debut after dominating in Karate Combat.
The question now looms: will Despaigne have more success in this second chance? Before that, however, one must first look back at his first UFC run.
Robelis Despaigne’s First UFC Stint: Hype Reversion
Despaigne made his Octagon debut in March 2024, in the undercard to Sean O’Malley’s revenge match against Marlon Vera. Facing Contenders Series alum Josh Parisian, he had received much hype in the buildup to the fight. After all, here was a multiple-time taekwondo medalist who had a UFC-record 87″ reach and purportedly better striking than many within his division. Age be damned, he was going to contend for the title in no time!
Despaigne did not disappoint, destroying Parisian in only 18 seconds and earning a Performance of the Night bonus. With that, it was time to fast-track him to the upper echelon. Alas, that was where the problems began.