Heavyweight Robelis Despaigne issued a statement following his first-round knockout win over Junior dos Santos at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano.
In a battle between two former UFC fighters, Despaigne got the better of dos Santos as he viciously knocked him out with an insane three-punch combination to put the former UFC champion’s lights out. For Despaigne, this was by far the biggest win of his MMA career to date, and he did it on the biggest stage in grand style, as he slumped “Cigano” over and put him out cold.
Robelis Despaigne Issues Statement Following Amazing Knockout
After knocking out dos Santos, Despaigne took to his social media to issue a statement following his amazing knockout win.
“No one gets here alone. First Netflix card and none of this happens without my team. Every round, every sacrifice, every lesson — thank you for riding with me. Thanks @fusionxcelperformance , @jwill1224 ,@attblackboxx ,@blackboxxghost ,We move together,” Despaigne wrote on his Instagram.
The 37-year-old Cuban is a former Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo and is the current Karate Combat heavyweight champion. Of course, most MMA fans remember Despaigne from his UFC career, where he was a major disappointment with just a 1-2 record. After knocking out Josh Parisian in his UFC debut in March 2024, Despaigne lost back-to-back decisions to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane, leading to the UFC releasing him from his contract. He then went to Karate Combat, where he holds a perfect 7-0 record with six knockout wins, and now he has this amazing viral win on the MVP MMA card against a former UFC heavyweight champion to add to his resume.
It is fair to say that Despaigne has improved immensely in the nearly two years since the UFC let him go. The UFC may be regretting letting him go and become a star in another promotion, but either way, you have to give him credit for really turning his combat sports career around. He also made $50,000 in pre-tax, disclosed pay for the event, so he did well financially, although he did not get a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus, even though he had arguably the most viral KO on the card.
What’s Next for Robelis Despaigne?
Following the fight, Despaigne mentioned in his post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani that he would like to fight Francis Ngannou next. Ngannou, who knocked out Philipe Lins in a devastating fashion later on the main card, is a fellow knockout artist, so this would be an absolutely explosive fight between two heavy hitters if MVP MMA could get it done.
Ngannou seems more interested in chasing a superfight with Jon Jones at the moment. However, if that does not come to fruition due to Jones being locked to his UFC contract, then a fight between Ngannou and Despaigne makes a ton of sense. These are two of the hardest-hitting knockout artists in the heavyweight division right now, so this would be an amazing fight for the fans to watch. While Ngannou would no doubt be the betting favorite to win that fight if it were to happen, you still have to give Despainge at least a puncher’s chance if the Ngannou fight were to happen. If it did, then the fans would be the big winners, and it would be a very exciting matchup.
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