Robelis Despaigne says UFC exit fixed the hole in his heavyweight game

By the time Despaigne made his UFC debut in 2024, he had finished all four pro fights with a combined 5-13 cage time. The taekwondo Olympic bronze medalist lived up to his hype by finishing
Josh Parisian 18 seconds into his commercial debut. But Despaigne’s flaws became apparent as he won with back-to-back losses. Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane.

Robelis Despaigne outlines his improved ground game ahead of fight with Tai Tuivasa at UFC 331

Despaigne (6-2) was released from the UFC in 2024 and went on to compete in Karate Combat, where he won the heavyweight title. “The Bad Boy” returned to mixed martial arts competition last May, winning by first round knockout. Junior dos Santos at
The most valuable offersThe inaugural MMA event.

Despaigne has now re-signed with the UFC and is set to begin his second run Ocean tide
(14-10) at UFC 331 September 19 in Los Angeles. He feels more confident in his second UFC run after gaining experience outside the Octagon. The Cuban also believes he has greatly improved his ground game since his first stint in the UFC. Despaigne still has the lofty goal of becoming a UFC champion.

“I’m happy to be back and grateful to the UFC for giving me the opportunity to return,” Despaigne said in a recent interview. “I got about a year of experience outside of the UFC. And now that I’m coming back, I have a lot more confidence in myself. The main difference is that I have a lot of experience and I’ve been working on my game. I feel like it’s a welcome party and I’m going to give everything to win … As always, I’m very ambitious and my goal is to be in the UFC.”