Olympic bronze medalist Robelis Despaigne delivered a memorable performance in his Octagon debut, smashing through heavyweight standout Josh Parisian in just 18 seconds.
After making a name for himself on the regional scene with four straight first-round finishes, ‘The Big Boy’ continued the trend in his promotional debut at UFC 299 on Saturday night. In the opening seconds, Despaigne threw a thunderous head kick that took him off his own feet. Scrambling back up, Despaigne met the approaching Parisian with a booming right hand that immediately sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.
Parisian ate two more right hands on the canvas before the referee could step in and bring a stop to the bout.
Official Result: Robelis Despaigne def. Josh Parisian via TKO (strikes) at 0:18 of Round 1.
It goes down as the second-fastest knockout for a debuting heavyweight in UFC history. Despaigne is now 5-0 in his mixed martial arts career and has only needed a combined 37 seconds to dispatch his last four opponents by way of knockout.
Check Out Highlights From Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian at UFC 299:
Robelis Despaigne needed only 18 seconds to emphatically announce his arrival at #UFC299
Full coverage: https://t.co/LuKEGVy18q pic.twitter.com/Ib5Ga4Sga5
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 10, 2024
