Preview: UFC 299 Prelims

Heavyweights

Robelis Despaigne (4-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Josh Parisian (15-7, 2-4 UFC)

ODDS: Despaigne (-345), Parisian (+250)

Despaigne is certainly a fascinating prospect, and it is anyone’s guess as to how he will fare from this point forward. An Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo, the Cuban transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2022 and had an unmemorable but promising debut. His opponent was able to grind things to a halt at times, but Despaigne was quick enough with his strikes—and absolutely massive at 6-foot-7—that he managed to score a vicious knockout when given the opportunity. From there, Despaigne went on an absolute heater, knocking out three opponents in a combined 19 seconds. His striking is absolutely wild, but again, Despaigne’s combination of speed and size has made technique a non-factor when it comes to finding a finish. At 35 years old, the time is now for Despaigne to make whatever run he is going to make in mixed martial arts, and Parisian draws the assignment of welcoming him to the UFC.

Parisian is a solid first test, as he possesses the necessary level of durability to succeed as a heavyweight but little in the way of ancillary skills. Despite being a massive man, Parisian has usually had to rely on outworking and outlasting opponents in wars of attrition rather than scoring any sort of one-punch knockout. Despaigne is so unproven that Parisian could easily send his hype train careening off the rails, but the read is that the UFC newcomer’s dynamism at least gets him past this obstacle. The pick is Despaigne via first-round knockout.

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