Here’s what you may have missed?
Did you fall victim to the Robelis Despaigne hype train?
Perhaps your parlay went up in flames the moment the fight escaped the opening minute, which made it longer than Despaigne’s previous four bouts. Or maybe you held out hope for the knockout until the final Waldo Cortes-Acosta takedown late in the third round, which clearly signified the end of his chances.
If so, you’re not alone. Let’s face it: it’s fun to ride the hype train! Despaigne had an Olympic bronze medal on his resume, an undefeated record filled with knockouts, and an 87 inch reach. Say no more! The Heavyweight division needs exciting new talent, so why not a 35-year-old Cuban that stands sideways like “Wonderboy” Thompson?
Unfortunately, Cortes-Acosta demonstrated why not in efficient fashion, revealing all the holes that pessimists feared existed in Despaigne’s game. None of it was particularly shocking. Did we expect Despaigne to have any kind of bottom game? Not really, though it was still disappointing to see him fail to even pursue underhooks from his back — the most day one of wrestling instruction.
Generally, Despaigne’s wrestling and grappling defense appeared to be that of a man who has never been held down on the floor or trained properly. He didn’t pursue underhooks or fight grips. He turned his back often and reached backwards. Rather than push off on his opponent’s head to deny a takedown, he wrapped up guillotine choke that was really more of a non-threatening head squeeze.
It was a lot of extremely rookie mistakes.
On the feet, Despaigne’s decision-making left a lot to be desired as well. He repeatedly crashed forward behind lunging right hands and shifting punches, the exact techniques a fighter trying not to get taken down should be avoiding. He doesn’t yet have a process in the cage, which is why the far more experienced Cortes-Acosta was able to implement his own game plan and grind him out.
Fans worldwide are yelling, “FRAUD CHECK!” and it’s justified. Despaigne is clearly not ready for Heavyweights in the top half of the division.
The bright side, however, is that Despaigne can rebound from this. He still has ridiculous physical tools and great weapons on the feet. Midway through the third, he started to realize he could just hang back and kick the crap out of Cortes-Acosta, and the Brazilian hated it. That’s a conclusion he came to only because he tripled his total professional fight time in this bout alone.
Hopefully, Despaigne learns other lessons here. He managed to survive on the floor with absolutely zero technique, so a half-decent MMA coach should be able to impart some much needed grappling form upon him quickly. Wall-walking and underhook getups don’t have to be complicated to be effective! Now that he’s been manhandled, perhaps Despaigne will be more eager to focus on that missing aspect of his game.
This defeat could be a turning point for Despaigne, the result that convinces his MMA requires full attention and dedication and that his raw athleticism alone will no longer be enough. If he can use it as a learning lesson, it may not be long before he strings together another couple wins, and the hype train is rolling once again.
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