Heavyweight prospect Robelis Despaigne has booked his second UFC fight.
[autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] has his second assignment in the UFC.
The undefeated heavyweight prospect will take on [autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag] on May 11 at a UFC Fight Night event in St. Louis.
The news first was announced by Despaigne’s manager, AJ Ariosa, of First Round Management, on Tuesday. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with an additional person with knowledge of the matchup who asked to remain anonymous because the UFC hasn’t made an official announcement.
Despaigne (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who has the longest reach in UFC history, debuted earlier this month at UFC 299 in Miami. He quickly dispatched Josh Parisian with a bonus-winning 18-second TKO. The 35-year-old is an Olympic medalist in taekwondo from Cuba and considered one of the most interesting prospects in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
His opponent, Cortes-Acosta (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), is coming off the biggest win of his career. “Salsa Boy” defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in January. He’s on a two-fight winning streak after his first professional loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima in April 2023.
No other fights have been made official for the UFC’s return to St. Louis, which will be the promotion’s first time there in more than six years.
Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 299 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $359,000.
MIAMI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 299 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $359,000.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC 299 took place at Kaseya Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The full UFC 299 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
Heavyweight newcomer Robelis Despaigne was as advertised at UFC 299, winning his debut in just 18 seconds.
[autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] was as advertised at UFC 299.
Despaigne (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) dispatched Josh Parisian (15-8 MMA, 2-5 UFC) with a blistering counter right hook at just the 18-second mark of Round 1 Saturday in Miami. The heavyweight bout was on the early prelims at Kaseya Center.
AS WILD AS WE EXPECTED! AS SHORT AS WE EXPECTED! 🤯
Check out the best photos from Robelis Despaigne’s first-round knockout win over Josh Parisian at UFC 299
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]’s first-round knockout win over [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] at UFC 299 at Kaseya Center in Miami. (Fight and venue photos by Sam Navarro, USA Today Sports; UFC; Getty Images)
6-foot-7 Olympic medalist Robelis Despaigne has his sights on the heavyweight title ahead of his debut at UFC 299.
MIAMI – [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]’s MMA career is just getting going, yet the heavyweight prospect has no problem letting the world know his intentions.
Saturday, Despaigne (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on the preliminary card of UFC 299 against Josh Parisian (15-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC). The Olympic silver medalist in taekwondo, representing Cuba, hopes this is the beginning of his path to the UFC heavyweight title.
“Of course I want to be champion,” Despaigne told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I’m very ambitious with my dreams. That’s my goal: Win the UFC heavyweight title and defend it multiple times.”
Despaigne debuts with only four professional MMA fights under his belt – which is a rare sight in the UFC. The 35-year-old understands he’s been fast-tracked to the UFC, but he thinks he’s more than ready for what’s to come.
“From the paths that I’ve seen, many people get to the UFC with eight or 10 fights. But I’ve had the privilege to get here in the UFC with only four fights,” Despaigne said. “Now I just have to show why I’m here.”
Despaigne is amazed to be debuting at UFC 299, one of the most stacked cards in recent years. Although to many this may add pressure, Despaigne is happy to be debuting in front of a Miami crowd that will have many Cubans present.
“I’m very happy and satisfied that I was able to get to this stage, the world of UFC,” Despaigne said. “I’m very happy to be among all these great names. I’ve gotten a chance to see more than half of the big names that make up this card. It’s always good to be surrounded by so many great figures.”
Check out the 12 longest reaches in UFC history – with a newcomer set to break the record by 2.5 inches.
As much as skill and technique play into how MMA fights unfold, intangibles can present insurmountable obstacles for even the most well-equipped combatant.
Long reaches, and how a fighter utilizes them, can pose a myriad of problems for opponents when they struggled to get inside. In UFC history, few fighters’ biological builds have surpassed 80 inches – and fewer have creeped toward 90 inches. But it’s happened.
At Saturday’s UFC 299, the all-time record for the longest reach will be broken – by 2.5 inches.
The 12 fighters have a combined professional MMA record of 210-74-2, including a combined UFC record of 85-47.
Check out the dozen fighters listed below who were able to touch up their opponents with punches from a farther distance than any others in history, using data from database Tapology.
There were 35 UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 8-14.
UFC 299 has added Robelis Despaigne, the hyped, hulking heavyweight who medaled in Olympic taekwondo.
Highly touted heavyweight prospect and Cuban taekwondo Olympian [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] has his first UFC assignment.
At UFC 299, Despaigne (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his promotional debut vs. [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC), the UFC announced Tuesday. The event takes place March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Despaigne, 35, is a decorated taekwondo practitioner. He won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in the 80kg weight class. He also is a two-time bronze medalist in the World Championships (2013 and 2015).
Since his pivot to MMA over the COVID-19 pandemic, Despaigne has won all four of his professional bouts by knockout in the first round. His past three appearances have lasted a combined 19 seconds, with the two most recent lasting three and four seconds, respectively.
Following the four-second TKO of Miles Banks at Fury FC 84 in December, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard phoned promoter Eric Garcia immediately after the bout’s conclusion to offer Despaigne a multifight deal.
“My ambitions have been very high through everything I’ve done,” Despaigne told MMA Junkie in December when detailing his journey through combat sports. “That’s not going to change now. I want to fight three or four times next year. That’s for sure. And I want to hopefully fight for the belt in one or two years. … I’m going to fight for the belt – and win it.”
On the flip side of the equation, Parisian is an alumnus of “The Ultimate Fighter” and Dana White’s Contender Series. Currently on a two-fight skid, Parisian looks to get back in the win column for the first time since June 2022.
With the addition, the UFC 299 lineup includes:
Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
Jailton Almeida vs. Curtis Blaydes
Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
Maycee Barber vs. Katlyn Chookagian
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Song Yadong vs. Petr Yan
Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Michel Pereira
Asu Almabaev vs. CJ Vergara
Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
Olympic medalist Robelis Despaigne recently broke the internet – and had UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard calling – in the span of four seconds.
A combination of relief, surprise, and vindication triggered emotion from 6’7″ heavyweight [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] as he received news the UFC officially made him an offer during Sunday’s Fury FC 84 event in Houston.
It was a spontaneous and unprecedented move by the UFC, specifically heavyweight division matchmaker Mick Maynard, but it came after a rare occurrence.
Despaigne notched a four-second knockout against Miles Banks – consciousness snatched in the blink of an eye. The win combined with Despaigne’s two previous clocked in at a whopping total of 19 seconds. The latest finish sent the MMA social media community into a frenzy.
“I knocked him out. They raised my hand and I was pulled for an interview,” Despaigne said. “When I came back, I spoke to my manager AJ Ariosa literally two minutes after the fight and he told me, ‘Hey, you’re signed to the UFC.’ Three minutes after that, they announced it in the cage. That’s how it happened.”
Despaigne admits, his rapid MMA success has outdone his expectations. Four finishes in four fights with three of them in a matter of seconds. But whether it was now or later, Despaigne felt destined for UFC notoriety. His martial arts roots run deeper than cage-fighting, after all.
“I’ve surprised myself getting those three wins so fast,” Despaigne said. “I train a lot and they do examine the opponents as much as possible. There you go. That’s what happens.”
Cuba’s Robelis Despaigne poses with his bronze medal on the podium for men’s taekwondo + 80 kg category of the London 2012 Olympic games, on August 11, 2012 at the ExCel centre in London. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Despaigne, 35, grew up in Cuba and began taekwondo at age 9. Seven years later, he made the national team – which he was a part of for 15 years. During that stretch, Despaigne represented his country in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He medaled bronze in the heavyweight class.
“It was amazing,” Despaigne said. “Since Cuba’s Angel Valodia Matos won the Olympics (in 2000), I looked up to him. Every person that is an amateur, that’s the biggest tournament you can go to. You’re representing your country. … Once I got to that, I had to leave with a medal. Of course, I wanted gold. But I had to leave with a medal for my country.”
Even during his taekwondo peak, Despaigne heard the rumblings. The influential voices got louder and louder, until Despaigne gave in to their demands.
“I was losing love for the sport in 2012. A lot was going on in Cuba where I wasn’t really happy about the sport,” Despaigne said. “I was loving love of it. My coach kept on telling me to do MMA. But all I had seen about the UFC and MMA was knockouts. I was like, ‘I don’t want to get knocked out.’ I was skeptical about it. But then I started watching the fight and was like, ‘I can actually do this. I’m going to go ahead and try this.’ Yeah, that’s what happened. That’s why I went into MMA.”
Robelis Despaigne (R) from Cuba and Kristopher Moitland (L) from Costa Rica face each other during the over 87 kgs of Taekwondo, at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games, in Veracruz, Mexico, on November 18, 2014. The Games bring together nearly 8,000 athletes from 31 countries and run through November 30. AFP PHOTO/RONALDO SCHEMIDT (Photo credit should read RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
With a college degree in physical training, Despaigne could’ve entered the average, everyday working life when his taekwondo flame fizzled. But nope. It was time to give MMA a shot.
In 2019, Despaigne began MMA-specific training in Cuba. He added grappling to his routine. After pandemic delays, Despaigne moved to Orlando, Fla. in 2022. He still lives and trains there. Four fights later, he’s making international headlines.
“I’ve been training grappling and jiu-jitsu since 2019,” Despaigne said. “I absolutely love it. I actually wanted to get into grappling tournaments, but because I had MMA fights and some people had pulled out, I didn’t have enough time to go into tournaments. I feel absolutely confident with it. I have no problem going on the ground or any of that type of stuff. I train at Gracie Barra. I have no problem with it all.”
Image via Fury FC
Despaigne doesn’t have a UFC debut set quite yet, but he’s aiming for a specific date and location. UFC 299 is expected to take place March 9 in Miami and Despaigne would love to fight in the state he now calls home.
“My ambitions have been very high through everything I’ve done,” Despaigne said. “That’s not going to change now. I want to fight three or four times next year. That’s for sure. And I want to hopefully fight for the belt in one or two years. … I’m going to fight for the belt – and win it.”
This interview was conducted using a Spanish-language interpreter and quotes have been edited for grammar.
Promoter Eric Garcia’s phone started ringing just seconds after Robelis Despaigne’s wicked knockout. It was UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard.
Olympic bronze medalist [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] has experienced an unusually swift journey through his short MMA career – and he’s already in the UFC.
Miles Banks was still on the canvas Sunday at Fury FC 84 when promoter Eric Garcia’s phone began to ring.
It was UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard.
The decision hadn’t even been read yet, but Despaigne’s four-second knockout was already going viral – and Maynard wanted the hulking 6-foot-7 Cuban on the roster as soon as possible, Garcia recalled to MMA Junkie.
Garcia then informed ring announcer J. Wayne Leggett, who announced the news to the Houston crowd and UFC Fight Pass viewing audience.
It was an unusual move by the promotion, but Despaigne (4-0) is an unusual fighter. Despaigne, 35, has a 100 percent TKO rate. His last three fights clocked in at a combined total time of 19 seconds.
Robelis Despaigne knocks out Miles Bank in 5 seconds!!!!!!!
Not sure I've seen this before. 10 minutes after this KO, it's announced that Despaigne has been signed to the UFC. Confirmed by Mick Maynard. pic.twitter.com/AvcikJkDjI
Despaigne is a decorated taekwondo practitioner. He won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 80kg weight class. He also is a two-time bronze medalist in the World Championships (2013 and 2015).
No debut date or opponent has been announced for his first UFC appearance.
