“Jones better retire” – New UFC heavyweight signing with ’87 inch’ making debut at UFC 299 leaves fans buzzed about PPV card

Cuban taekwondo Olympian Robelis Despaigne brings his formidable 87-inch reach and knockout power to face Josh Parisian, sparking excitement for his UFC heavyweight debut in Miami.

“Jones better retire” – New UFC heavyweight signing with ’87 inch’ making debut at UFC 299 leaves fans buzzed about PPV card

Robelis Despaigne (Image via: X)

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the arguable GOAT of MMA. Jones had a long reign as the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. Many describe Jones as the ‘Jack of all Trades as he is not the best at any one discipline but the best at putting it all together. Jones also used his 84.5-inch reach to full effect in his fights. No opponent had a reach close to him, and the longest was Alexander Gustafsson, with a 79-inch reach.

The UFC recently signed Cuban Olympic Bronze medalist taekwondo practitioner Robelis Despaigne. Despaigne is 4-0 in MMA with four first-round finishes. His previous three fights were at Fury FC, which cumulatively ended in just 19 seconds. Despaigne is 6 feet 7 inches tall with an 87-inch reach, the longest reach among active UFC fighters. The massive juggernaut of Despaigne has fans excited about his UFC debut.

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Despaigne will take on Josh Parisian at UFC 299 in Miami. Parisian is coming off consecutive losses. The UFC likely expects Despaigne to prevail over Parisian quickly. Despaigne has tremendous power in both hands, and Parisian might likely get cut with a loss as he is 2-4 in the UFC.

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The UFC has fast-tracked fighters who they felt had star power. Alex Pereira had a relatively easy run to the middleweight title shot due to his history with then-incumbent Israel Adesanya. With Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic likely to retire in 2024, the UFC might provide an easier path to a title shot for Despaigne as he has star potential written all over him.

Fans buzzed about the UFC debut of Cuban Olympic medalist heavyweight

MMA netizens highly anticipate the UFC debut of Robelis Despaigne. The undefeated prospect is a Bronze medalist in Taekwondo at the 2012 London Olympics. Fight fans had even predicted he would prevail over Jon Jones, the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Robelis Despaigne
Robelis Despaigne (Image via: X, Instagram)

Despaigne only has four fights in MMA. Therefore, many are skeptical of his chances in the UFC, mainly due to his apparent deficiency in grappling. However, everybody respects his tremendous power. See the reaction of the MMA community to Despaigne’s anticipated debut at UFC 299.

https://twitter.com/Secktion80/status/1745236794348827001
https://twitter.com/Onthacomeup/status/1745286388113645625

UFC 299, headlined by Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera, is a stacked PPV card. The addition of Despaigne to the card is one way for the UFC to promote the heavyweight, as there will be a lot of eyeballs on the event.

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