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.”
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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.
Robelis Despaigne, a 6-foot-7 heavyweight, scored a three-second knockout at Fury Challenger Series 7.
[autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] is a name to remember.
Standing at 6-foot-7, Cuba’s Despaigne (3-0) brings a lot of striking power to the cage as a heavyweight, and he has the incredible knockouts to prove it. In his previous outing, Despaigne knocked out Travis Gregoire in just 12 seconds at Fury FC 80.
But what if we told you he just finished a fight four times faster?
That’s right. Despaigne needed just three seconds to flatten Stevie Payne at Fury Challenger Series 7. The referee signaled for action, they met in the middle, and Despaigne landed a right head kick that stiffened Payne. Despaigne got in a right hand before the referee got there, but it wasn’t necessary.
Check out video of the finish (well, actually the entire fight) below (via X):
Despaigne, 35, won a bronze medal for Cuba in taekwondo at the 2012 Summer Olympics. With his size, skills and athleticism, Despaigne is proving to be a problem early in his professional undefeated MMA career.
