Robelis Despaigne’s march toward UFC heavyweight glory did not last long.
The Cuban Olympian and once red-hot heavyweight prospect was among seven fighters to part ways with the UFC on Tuesday. MMA Fighting first confirmed the news following an initial report by automated social media account UFC Roster Watch.
Despaigne joined a group that also included ranked UFC flyweight Matheus Nicolau and one-time title challenger Jessica Penne among the latest subtractions to the promotion’s roster.
Despaigne, 36, entered the UFC to much anticipation with a dazzling 18-second knockout of Josh Parisian in March that earned him Performance of the Night honors at UFC 299. That debut followed a quartet of highlight-reel first-round knockouts on the regional scene, the final two of which unfolded in just three and four seconds, respectively, for the 2012 bronze medalist in taekwondo.
But that momentum swiftly swung against Despaigne — after suffering back-to-back losses to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane, both of which revealed a dreadful lack of defensive wrestling and grappling, Despaigne’s time within the promotion has now been cut short.
Nicolau, 31, is currently the No. 10 ranked flyweight on the UFC’s official rankings but recently suffered the latest setback in what has become a three-fight losing streak.
After winning seven of his first eight Octagon bouts over two different stints with the promotion, Nicolau struggled to find success against one-time title challengers Brandon Royval and Alex Perez, as well as up-and-comer Asu Almabayev, and now finds himself heading back to the regional scene.
Penne, 41, is a former Invicta FC atomweight champion who unsuccessfully challenged for the UFC strawweight title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015. The longtime UFC veteran closed her promotional run by losing six of her eight past bouts.
Rounding out the group of seven athletes to part ways with the UFC were four bantamweights: Tamires Vidal, Jesse Butler, plus Contender Series prospects Vinicius Salvador and Charalampos Grigoriou.
