Athletes
Robelis Despaigne | ‘The Big Boy’ Is Back
Cuban Knockout Machine Robelis Despaigne Is Back In The UFC, And He Plans To Blast His Way To A Heavyweight Title Shot.
Robelis Despaigne is back in the UFC, and he plans on letting his fists do the talking as he looks to fire his way to the top of the heavyweight division.
The 38-year-old, who captured Olympic taekwondo bronze for Cuba at the London 2012 Olympics, transitioned to MMA back in 2022 and immediately made a name for himself as a deadly knockout artist. But after his winning form came to a juddering halt in the UFC, he was forced back to the drawing board. Now he’s back, and grateful for a second chance to chase his UFC dream.
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“I’m happy to be back,” he told UFC.com during a brief conversation during fight week ahead of Crypto.com UFC 331 in Los Angeles this week. “And I’m thankful to the UFC for giving me the opportunity to make my return.”
After winning his MMA debut with a first-round finish, Despaigne hit full throttle when he joined the Fury FC promotion and won three fights in a row, all by knockout, in a combined 19 seconds.
That sort of form makes big-promotion matchmakers sit up and take notice, and Despaigne soon got the call to join the UFC.
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His first fight in the Octagon could not have gone much better, as he demolished Josh Parisian in just 18 seconds at UFC 299 to get his UFC career off to a flying start. But back-to-back defeats to Waldo Cortes Acosta and Austen Lane in his next two outings saw him released by the promotion at the end of his initial three-fight contract.
Robelis Despaigne: 'I Have Much More Confidence In Myself' | Crypto.com UFC 331
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Robelis Despaigne: 'I Have Much More Confidence In Myself' | Crypto.com UFC 331
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Since then, Despaigne switched disciplines and competed under the Karate Combat banner, where his stand-up skills were perfectly suited to the organization’s ruleset. His first three fights for the promotion saw him return to his fast-finishing ways as he claimed a hat-trick of knockouts in a combined 24 seconds.
He eventually earned a shot at former UFC middleweight veteran Sam Alvey for the Karate Combat heavyweight title, and he knocked out “Smile’n Sam” with a head kick in the second round to capture the title.
UPCOMING UFC EVENT TICKETS: UFC Edmonton | UFC 332
He then went on to compete in MMA once again as he knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at an MVP MMA event in May. It suggested Despaigne could be ready to return to the Octagon, and he got the call to return, with Despaigne set to face Australian fan-favorite Tai Tuivasa at Crypto.com UFC 331 on Saturday night.
“I feel as if this is a welcome back party [for me], and I'm gonna give it my all to get the victory,” said Despaigne, who also explained that he has been working hard on his all-round MMA game in a bid to avoid the problems of his last two outings in the Octagon.
His defeats to Cortes Acosta and Lane saw his opponents use their wrestling to nullify the big Cuban’s lethal striking arsenal while exposing his relative lack of experience on the ground.
Since those defeats, Despaigne has been working on his defensive wrestling, and said that his work in the gym, along with his continued knockout success in competition, has boosted his confidence ahead of his UFC return this weekend.
“I’ve gained about a year of experience outside of the UFC,” he explained.
“Now that I'm returning, I have much more confidence in myself.
“The main difference is that I've gotten a lot more experience and that I've worked on my ground game.”
Ultimately, Despaigne harbors ambitions of one day capturing UFC heavyweight gold, and with the UFC heavyweight division arguably never looking more open than it does right now, his return could prove to be well timed as “The Big Boy” looks to make an immediate impact in his second UFC run.
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“As always, I'm highly ambitious, and my goal, as always, has been to get the belt, the UFC belt,” he stated.
“I'm very hungry for the victory, and I'm going to be fighting for the belt.”
Crypto.com UFC 331: Van vs Pantoja 2 took place live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on September 19, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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