Robelis Despaigne may have found his happy place in Karate Combat.
The heavyweight the UFC recently released needed just three seconds to dispatch Dominik Jędrzejczyk at Karate Combat 51 on Thursday night in Miami.
Take a look at the KO—it was the fastest in the promotion’s history.
The UFC signed the former Olympic Taekwondo athlete after he began his MMA career 4-0 with first-round KOs in every bout. His UFC journey got off to a similar start as the 36-year-old Cuban starched Josh Parisian in 18 seconds in May during Despaigne’s promotional debut.
Unfortunately, Despaigne ran into two straight heavyweights in Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane, who refused to allow him to stand and fight to his strengths. Both took Despaigne down and won easy unanimous decisions, with the Cuban struggling badly with takedown defense and getting up from his back.
After the loss to Lane in October, the UFC had seen enough, and the heavyweight was a part of a mass sweep that saw the promotion part ways with more than a dozen fighters for a variety of reasons.
While Despaigne has reportedly signed on with the Global Fight League, a new MMA organization set to start in 2025, it seems Karate Combat could be the professional combat sports organization that provides him the best opportunity to shine.
Because of his advanced age and limited grappling experience, it’s not realistic to expect him to make major strides in that key area of MMA.
Having seemingly hit a massive ceiling on that front, you also have to wonder if, in addition to Karate Combat, Despaigne might have an opportunity to make some waves—and some money—in boxing. Kicking is a huge part of his offense, but all six of his professional combat sports knockouts have come with punches.
There’s far more to it than that, but there’s something there to market. With the proper commitment and marketing machine behind him, Despaigne could surprise people or, at the very least, ascend to a level where he garners a few nice paychecks before he turns 42.
As it is, on a slow night during a slow period for combat sports, Despaigne had the KO of the night.
Here is a look at all of the results from the event.
Karate Combat 51 Results
- Alexandre de Jesus def Michael Sainz by Split Decision
- Roosevelt Sousa def Daishi Goto by First Round Submission (7:59)
- Arturo Vergara def Eoghan Chelmiah by First Round KO (0:59)
- Cosmo Alexandre def Igor de Castañeda by Third Round TKO (3:00)
- Rafael Alves def Khama Worthy by Unanimous Decision
- Robelis Despaigne def Dominik Jędrzejczyk by First Round KO (0:04)
- Gabriel Varga def Andres Madera by Third Round TKO (1:31)
- Jayden Eynaud def Adam Rosa by First Round KO (2:50)
- Loxbey Montalvan def Israel Gonzalez by First Round TKO (0:32)
- Jade Jorand def Saba Nabavinejad by Unanimous Decision
- Gorjan Slaveski def Noah Cutter by First Round TKO (0:59)
- Oussama Assli def Michel Martinez by First Round TKO (1:06)
