When the UFC signed Robelis Despaigne, who was 4-0, it excited the fight fans. After all, the 6’7″ Olympic Taekwondo Bronze medalist had four first-round finishes, and his last three fights cumulatively went 19 seconds. Despaigne spectacularly made his promotional debut at UFC 299, and Renato Moicano has now compared him to a Cuban ex-UFC title challenger.
At UFC 299, Despaigne knocked out Josh Parisian in 18 seconds, winning the Performance of the Night bonus. He would fight this weekend at UFC St. Louis, taking on Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Gilbert Burns and Renato Moicano previewed the fight on the Show me The Money podcast. Moicano had an interesting take on Despaigne.
I think UFC recognizing the next Yoel Romero. Like Olympian medalist a guy that is six foot…six f*cking seven. The guy is a giant.
Renato Moicano via Show me The Money podcast
Moicano picked Despaigne to win against Cortes-Acosta. Nevertheless, Moicano’s comparison between Yoel Romero and Robelis Despaigne is spot on. Both came to the UFC as Olympic medalists. Moreover, both were relatively older than their contemporaries. Nonetheless, Mociano does not think age matters in the heavyweight division.
The UFC’s heavyweight division is in a transitionary phase. Older fighters like Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are on the tail end of their career. Moreover, fighters like Tom Aspinall, Sergei Pavlovich, and Ciryl Gane look primed to become the next big things in the division. However, Gilbert Burns is skeptical of Robelis Despaigne being an elite heavyweight.
Gilbert Burns predicts Robelis Despaigne’s upcoming fight
Robelis Despaigne’s UFC debut was at UFC 299, where Gilbert Burns lost to Jack Della Maddalena via third-round TKO. The scintillating debut made Despaigne a fighter to watch out for. The Cuban won the fight via KO with a punch going back, showing the power he could generate.
Gilbert Burns skeptical of Robelis Despaigne (Image via: IMAGO, Instagram)However, Gilbert Burns has not brought the hype around Despaigne. In the recent Show me the Money podcast episode, he previewed Despaigne’s upcoming fight. He picked Waldo Cortes-Acosta to beat Despaigne, revealing the reason why.
I saw this guy [Waldo Cortes-Acosta] two or three times in the locker room. He has very decent boxing, good defense, hey hands, and you know those guys that are very solid, that have no neck? That’s like him. He’s not like those heavyweights who are fat, they have a big belly. He’s all solid. He might be 250, 260, but solid. I think that guy can take a lot of punishment, so I don’t think I’d go with [Robelis] Despaigne.
Gilbert Burns via Show me The Money podcast
Burns predicted a victory for his fellow Brazilian. Despaigne has not gone past the first round. As such, Burns stated that Cortes-Acosta has never been knocked out. Therefore, as Burns believed, the Cuban fighter would not finish the Brazilians in the first round, paving the way for a victory in the decision.
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