Who is Robelis Despaigne? Know all about Olympic medalist’s career fighting at UFC 299 PPV event

UFC 299 has a fight card that could challenge the promotions’s stacked UFC 300. Even though the main card of UFC 299 has solid names, the early prelims have an eagerly awaited debut. 2012 London Olympics Taekwondo Bronze medalist Robelis Despaigne will face Josh Parisian at UFC 299 in his debut with the promotion.

The UFC’s heavyweight division is in a transition phase. Fighters like Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Jailton Almeida, and Sergei Pavlovich look poised to carry the division. Veterans like Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are looking at retirement. With Francis Ngannou not in the UFC, the onus is on Despaigne to become the scariest heavyweight in the UFC.

Professional MMA career of Robelis Despaigne

Even though he will make his UFC debut in the upcoming UFC PPV event, Robelis Despaigne has only been in professional MMA four times. Despaigne made his debut against Katuma Mulumba at Titan FC 77 on June 23, 2022. Interestingly, it was the longest fight of his career, as it went 4 minutes and 54 seconds before he knocked out Mulumba.

Since the win against Mulumba, Despaigne fought exclusively at Fury FC, where his total fight time was just 19 seconds. He fought three times at Fury FC, all in 2023. In his Fury FC debut, he TKOed Travis Gregoire in just 12 seconds. It was the longest fight of his three-fight stint with Fury FC.

His second fight with promotion was on the Fury Challenger series 7, where he knocked out Stevie Payne in just three seconds. In his final fight with the promotion, at Fury FC 84, he knocked out Miles Banks in for seconds. During this fight, the commentator broke the news of the UFC’s signing of Despaigne.

Personal life of Robelis Despaigne

Robelis Despaigne was born in Santiago de Cuba, in Cuba. He stands 6 feet 7 inches tall, weighs close to 260 pounds, and has a staggering reach of 87 inches, which is the longest in the UFC. Due to the immense popularity of MMA, Despaigne transitioned to MMA in 2019. This was after he attained a degree in physical training.

To further pursue his MMA career, Despaigne shifted to Orlando, Florida. The state is home to many UFC fighters of Cuban heritage, like Jorge Masvidal and Yoel Romero. Despaigne trains at Temple MMA in Smith Street, Kissimmee, under the tutelage of longtime coach Leudin Gonzalez.

There are no details available about his family. However, Despaigne had posted on social media that he would be with his family in 2024. He thanked his family and stated that they were his motivation for success. From the Instagram post, it was evident that he has a mother and siblings back at home.

Taekwondo Career of Robelis Despaigne

Robelis Despaigne started training in Taekwondo at the age of 9. He had immense success in it as he was part of his country’s national team by the age of 15. His first International success came in 2011 when he won a Bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the FISU World University Games in Shenzen.

Despaigne’s biggest career achievement came after winning the bronze medal at the London Olympics. He also won the Bronze medal at the world championships in 2013 and 2015. Nonetheless, he has only won one gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2014.

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