Matanzas/Losing two fights in a row in the most important company in mixed martial arts, at the age of 36, would have meant the end of any fighter’s professional career. However, almost two years later, the Cuban Robelis Despaigne returned to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) octagon with a close victory over the well-known Australian Tai Tuivasa.
The super heavyweight category fight, held on September 19 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles as part of the UFC 331 card, left a split decision victory for the Santiago Olympic taekwondo medalist. Tuivasa did not completely succumb to Despaigne’s blows, and the Cuban knew how to defend himself against the Australian’s tackle attempts.
Statistics provided by the portal UFC Stats are clear: Tuivasa landed 31 significant blows, compared to 30 for Robelis, but of the Caribbean’s high impacts, 29 were to the head, compared to 17 for his opponent. Furthermore, Despaigne completed his two takedown attempts, something unthinkable in his previous fights in the franchise, while Tuivasa only completed one of six.
“The actions that led Robelis to victory were undoubtedly the forceful blows he was able to land and the control on the ground”
Leudin González, former coach of the Cuban national taekwondo team and currently most responsible for the preparation of Robelis Despaigne, reveals to 14ymedio the keys to this victory: “We knew it was a difficult fight and the strategy was not to fall into the opponent’s game. He takes advantage of the short distance and we wanted to avoid that. On the other hand, we knew that he did the camp at American Top Team, a gym in Miami famous for having an excellent coach of fighting. His strategy was to go for the takedown, and most of the time Robelis was able to defend it, and he even took down Tuivasa twice.”
The architect of the MMA Temple project in Orlando, Florida, continued: “The actions that led Robelis to victory were undoubtedly the forceful blows he was able to land and the control on the ground, where he landed several of his best blows.”
Recently, the California State Athletic Commission revealed the payments corresponding to UFC 331. Robelis Despaigne received $200,000: 100,000 for participation and 100,000 for the victory. Meanwhile, his challenger received $350,000.
Despaigne has, for now, two wins and two losses in the UFC. In March 2024, he annihilated Josh Parisian with a knockout after 18 seconds, then, in May and October of that year, he suffered consecutive losses by unanimous decision against Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane, in that order. These results sentenced him to dismissal from the company. Nevertheless, Robelis remained active. From his departure from the franchise until his return against Tuivasa, he held eight fights, seven in Karate Combat and one with MVP MMA. He won all eight fights and scored a knockout in seven of them.
Leudin González assures that there is a big difference between this Robelis and the one who was fired from the UFC a couple of years ago: “He has more competitive experience, although Tuviasa tripled him in fights held. We are in a very difficult sport that is not determined by having one or two skills. Growth is slow because many tools are needed to be a complete fighter. The knockout did not come out, but in our favor we have that he was able to finish the three rounds and that helps him delve deeper into this world. We know that we have to continue working deficiencies, but neither he nor the work team are going to give up their efforts to see him among the best.”
