To say the undercard at Saturday’s MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano event was an eclectic mix of notable names from around the combat sports world would be an understatement.
The mixed martial arts event, which took place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., was promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and featured a collection of past and current champions from various organizations and disciplines.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos was brutally knocked out by Olympic taekwondo bronze medallist Robelis Despaigne.
Brazil’s dos Santos, 42, hadn’t competed in MMA since 2022 and hasn’t won an MMA fight since he stopped Derrick Lewis in 2019. This was the ninth KO/TKO loss of dos Santos’s career.
Cuba’s Despaigne, 37, landed a devastating three-punch combination three minutes into the opening round. This was Despaigne’s first MMA bout since he had a 1-2 run in the UFC in 2024. The six-foot-eight Despaigne has gone 7-0 and won a title in Karate Combat competition over the past 17 months.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Frank Trigg was the referee assigned by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) and former UFC middleweight star Chris Leben was one of the cageside judges for the bout, although Leben’s services were ultimately not required.
Touted lightweight Salahdine Parnasse only needed one round to take care of business against Kenneth Cross as he finished his fifth consecutive opponent via KO/TKO.
The 28-year-old from France had been a champion at 155 pounds in Poland’s KSW organization for 3.5 years before vacating the belt in April and before that he was a two-time KSW 145-pound titleholder between 2019 and 2022.
Cross, a 31-year-old American fighting out of Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, is a veteran of organizations like Bellator, Tuff-N-Uff and XFC and won a fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020 but was not awarded a UFC contract. He had been on an 11-1 run dating back to 2019 prior to facing Parnasse.
Adriano Moraes pulled off a dramatic comeback when he choked Phumi Nkuta out cold at the literal last second of their 130-pound catchweight bout to earn a technical submission.
Nkuta, who replaced undefeated flyweight standout Muhammad Mokaev on short notice, put forth a great effort in the 15-minute fight and never tapped out but he did not move once Moraes released the hold at the end of the third round.
Referee Herb Dean did not wave off the fight at the bell, however the CSAC allows for the use of instant replay when there is a controversial end to a fight, so after a review it was ruled Nkuta went unconscious with one second remaining in the fight to suffer the first loss of his career.
Moraes is a former One Championship flyweight champion who most notably knocked out former longtime UFC champion Demetrious Johnson five years ago in the first of their three fights.
Jason Jackson continued to show fight fans that he’s still one of the best 170-pounders in the sport. Jackson needed only 22 seconds to put away Jefferson Creighton, earning a knockout win after putting his opponent away with a flush left hook.
The 35-year-old from Jamaica is a former Bellator MMA welterweight champion and the only person to hold a win over current UFC contender Yaroslav Amosov, who is 30-1 and quickly rising up the UFC rankings.
The referee for this match was “Big” John McCarthy, who literally helped write the rules of the sport and was at one point was the most recognizable official involved in MMA. McCarthy stopped officiating after 2017 and transitioned into a commentary role with Bellator MMA and later started a podcast with fighter-turned-commentator Josh Thomson. McCarthy returned to officiating in 2025 and has worked a handful of events over the past 8.5 months.
Earlier on the preliminary card, featherweight David Mgoyan had No. 1 UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan in his corner for his unanimous decision victory over Albert Morales.
Brazil’s Aline Pereira, the sister of multi-weight UFC champion Alex Pereira, defeated Quebec’s Jade Masson-Wong in a 130-pound catchweight meeting.
Brandon Jenkins kicked off the prelims with a split decision win over Chris Avila, a longtime teammate of Nate Diaz, at a 165-pound catchweight bout. Namo Fazil capped off the prelims with by using a brabo choke to submit Jake Babian in welterweight action.
