UFC 299 – New Blood: Meet Cuba’s Olympic medal-winning Colossus

In a rare turn of events, UFC 299, which takes place this weekend (Sat., March 9, 2024) inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., features zero debuts from the Contender Series, though the sample size is a mere one. On this edition of “New Blood,” the series where I increasingly believe that the world no longer requires Heavyweights, we checkout an Olympic medalist with some of the wildest physical gifts you’ll ever see.

Editor’s note: Michael “Venom” Page — UFC’s high-profile free agent acquisition and former Bellator MMA human highlight reel — is also making his Octagon debut. We will preview “MVP” in-depth right here.

Robelis “The Big Boy” Despaigne

Weight Class: Heavyweight
Age: 35
Record: 4-0 (4 KO)
Notable Victories: None

One decade after claiming bronze in Olympic Taekwondo, Despaigne made his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in Titan FC, scoring a knockout in the waning seconds of the first round. He spent the next year on the sidelines, then took his talents to Fury FC, where he dispatched three opponents in a combined 19 seconds.

Cards on the table: there’s only so much analysis I can do of a guy with 5:13 of cage time, 4:54 of which took place in his debut, but I’ll do my best.

Despaigne is an absolute colossus of a Heavyweight, standing 6’7” with an 87-inch reach and chiseled physique despite weighing in near the limit (261 pounds). He has a unique, almost hunched stance, keeping his hands at his waist and leaning forward. He’s as kick-heavy as his pedigree would suggest, but rather than the nimble, swing-for-contact kicks you’d expect, he puts his hips into some truly gnarly roundhouses.

Oddly enough, though, he’s yet to score a finish with those kicks. He’s shown the beginnings of a footwork-heavy style to maximize his absurd length, circling and pumping the jab, but his knockout blows thus far have been clubbing punches at point-blank range. He dispatched debut foe Katuma Mulumba with a swatting right hook behind a slick uppercut, Travis Gregoire by just hammering him while Gregoire shot, Stevie Payne with a boop to the temple after getting his head kick caught, and Miles Banks with a step-back right hook after a body kick.

It’s not exactly masterworks of technique, but the guy clearly has hammers in his fists.

As for the rest of his game, there are some red flags. He doesn’t move his head much and seems very prone to giving up deep underhooks when he sits down on punches. For example, Despaigne needed the referee to bail him out on two separate occasions after Mulumba grinded him against the fence. In addition, his punch technique can fall apart when he throws combinations. Though his jab, cross, hook and uppercut look solid, he’s prone to flailing.

The prognosis?

I get the sense that he’ll be more of a curiosity than a contender, closer to Galore Bofando than Alex Pereira. He’s got physical gifts out the wazoo, but he’s 35 years old and his four opponents were a combined 1-0. While I can see him hammering some of the low-level big men that lurk at the base of UFC’s Heavyweight division, any competent wrestler is going to have a field day.

He faces one of those bottom-feeders in Josh Parisian, but I’ve got a gut feeling that this is a landmine matchup. Though not what anyone would call a “good” fighter, Parisian has grit for days and is willing to grind if needed.

His Titan FC and Fury FC bouts are on Fight Pass.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 299 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 299: “O’Malley vs. Vera 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.