The UFC’s heavyweight division has a new name to keep an eye on and a new reach advantage to be aware of.
Robelis Despaigne lived up to the hype in his organizational debut at UFC 299, picking up a blistering 18-second technical knockout victory over Josh Parisian on the early portion of Saturday’s preliminary card.
The 35-year-old from Cuba began aggressively firing right hands early and often with his 87-inch wingspan, the longest reach in UFC history.
He briefly slipped to the mat after attempting a head kick before Parisian charged forward and Despaigne landed several pinpoint counters while backpedalling and dropped his opponent.
Despaigne was a 2012 Olympic bronze medallist in taekwondo in the +80kg division who began training in mixed martial arts in 2019. He is now 5-0 in MMA and none of his fights have seen a second round.
In fact, his 18-second win over Parisian is the second-longest fight of his young career. He also holds knockout wins that lasted only 12 seconds, four seconds and three seconds.
Despaigne has lived and trained in Florida since 2022, so the fans in attendance at Miami’s Kayseya Center certainly liked what they saw.
