Robelis Despaigne Returns to the UFC With a Heavyweight Title on His Mind

Robelis Despaigne is back in the UFC, and the 38-year-old Cuban isn't hiding what he wants: heavyweight gold. He fights Tai Tuivasa at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 19, his first Octagon appearance since being cut at the end of a three-fight contract. His resume reads like a highlight reel — 6-2 as a pro, and every single one of those six wins came by knockout.

The pedigree isn't a gimmick either. Despaigne won taekwondo bronze for Cuba at the London 2012 Olympics before switching to MMA in 2022. He then went on a tear under Fury FC, scoring three straight knockouts in a combined 19 seconds, and carried that momentum into the UFC by flattening Josh Parisian in 18 seconds at UFC 299.

Why He Got Cut — And What Changed

The knockouts stopped when the wrestling started. Back-to-back losses to Waldo Cortes Acosta — now the division's #5-ranked contender at 17-4 — and Austen Lane exposed the same hole: opponents took him down and smothered the striking that makes him dangerous. The UFC let him walk when his deal expired.

So Despaigne went back to work. He picked up the Karate Combat heavyweight title with a second-round head-kick KO of former UFC vet Sam Alvey, part of another three-knockout run that lasted just 24 seconds total. Then in May he knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at an MVP MMA event — the kind of scalp that gets you a phone call.

Despaigne says he's spent the layoff drilling defensive wrestling and rounding out his ground game, and that roughly a year of experience outside the promotion has changed how he sees himself in the cage. He described the Tuivasa booking as a welcome-back party and made clear he intends to leave with the win.

The Matchup

Tuivasa is a live opponent for a returning striker — the Australian fan favorite is 15-10 with 14 of those wins by KO, but he's been in a rough patch, dropping a unanimous decision to Louie Sutherland last time out. It's a heavyweight collision between two guys who thrive on chaos and struggle when the fight goes flat. With the division as wide open as it's been in years, Despaigne's timing could be sharp. He's hungry, he wants the belt, and he's not pretending otherwise.