The UFC parted ways with Robelis Despaigne less than a year into an underwhelming run in which the Cuban heavyweight prospect went 1-2 in the Octagon, a source confirmed to MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz on Tuesday.
X user @UFCRosterWatch, which tracks the UFC roster, initially reported about the promotion cutting Despaigne earlier in the day.
Despaigne garnered a lot of interest within the MMA community when the UFC signed him last December. He began his pro MMA career in 2022 with four straight knockout victories, ending three of those fights in 12, three, and four seconds, respectively. Despaigne is also an Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo, stands 6-foot-7, and had the longest reach in UFC history at 84 inches.
Despaigne made his debut at UFC 299 in March and continued his knockout streak by finishing Josh Parisian in 18 seconds. However, the 36-year-old came up short in his next two appearances, suffering decision losses to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane, the latter bout taking place on Oct. 19. Despaigne struggled to defend takedowns and return to his feet in both defeats.
Despaigne sits at 5-2 as a pro.
The UFC also reportedly parted ways with flyweight Matheus Nicolau (ranked No. 10 at the time of his exit), strawweight Jessica Penne, women's bantamweight Tamires Vidal, and bantamweights Vinicius Salvador, Charalampos Grigoriou, and Jesse Butler.
