Round 1 – JDS came out firing with the leg kicks, but Despaigne fired back with one of his own. Then a right hand over the top may have rocked JDS.

Not one to back up very much however, JDS pretended to throw and then looked for a single leg, but Despaigne threw him aside easily. Then a shot from JDS rocked Despaigne.

Despaigne landed a clean calf kick spinning JDS around, but JDS stayed on the pressure looking to land big shots. Despaigne fought with his hands down as he wanted to land shots from an angle JDS wouldn’t see.

JDS landed a leg kick, but ate a clean right hand counter from Despaigne and then an uppercut. JDS was wearing the damage already. JDS shot in for a single and Despaigne let loose with a flurry hurting the former UFC champ.

JDS bloodied and beat up would not relent, but the attacks from Despaigne stopped the pressure from the heavyweight.

Then a massive right hand put JDS’s lights out as Despaigne added a former UFC heavyweight champion to his resume.

Hope JDS is ok, but this might be the time for him to call it quits on fighting permanently.

Official Result: Robelis Despaigne def. Junior dos Santos via R1 KO, 2:01

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Maybe it was time for Paul to give something back to mixed martial arts. And on Saturday, he did just that, with his Most Valuable Promotions banner hosting Rousey vs. Carano, the first-ever MMA event on streaming behemoth Netflix.

Lots has been written about the card, but if you don’t know by know, know this: The UFC was happy to pay Rousey and Carano for the fight, and had it booked for the end of 2025. However, when Carano needed more time to get ready (she later admitted to losing 100 pounds for the fight over a year and a half), the bout was scrapped thanks to the promotion shifting to Paramount+ and leaving Pay-Per-View behind them. The company, it seemed, no longer wanted to take the risk on guaranteed money, as the original offer to Rousey in particular, which she called the best of her career, relied on PPV points – bonus money based on how well an event sells.

Enter Paul, Nakisa Bidarian, and their MVP label. They quickly snatched up the fight, signed up Mike Perry and Nate Diaz to face off, as well as lineal heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou. He’s yet to lose since exiting the UFC as champion (to be fair, he’s only fought once), and for a time was offered kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven. With the Dutch star opting to pursue boxing instead, ex-PFL and UFC heavyweight Philipe Lins stepped up instead.

Junior Dos Santos, Salahdine Parnasse, Phumi Nkuta and more also appear on the card, which, if successful, could very well lead to more shows down the line. It will all come down to how the admittedly aging main event, and some of the night’s big stars, perform however.

Consider Saturday a very important litmus test.

Where to Watch MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano

MVP MMA makes its debut on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, CA. The preliminary card streams live on Youtube starting at 6PM ET, 3PM PT and can be viewed below. Main card action gets underway at 9PM ET, 6PM PT on Netflix. Check below for full results from the event.

MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano Results

Main card (Netflix)

Ronda Rousey def. Gina Carano by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 0:17
Mike Perry def. Nate Diaz by TKO (corner stoppage), Round 2, 5:00
Francis Ngannou def. Philipe Lins by KO, Round 1, 4:31
Salahdine Parnasse def. Kenneth Cross by TKO, Round 1, 4:18
Robelis Despaigne def. Junior dos Santos by KO, Round 1, 2:01

Preliminary card (YouTube)

Namo Fazil def. Jake Babian by submission (d’arce choke), Round 2, 0:58
Adriano Moraes def. Phumi Nkuta by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:59
Jason Jackson def. Jefferson Creighton by knockout, Round 1, 0:22
David Mgoyan def. Albert Morales by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
Aline Pereira def. Jade Masson-Wong by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Brandon Jenkins def. Chris Avila by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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Now the reigning Karate Combat heavyweight champion, Alvey (34-18-1, 1NC MMA, 4-0 KC) has drawn fellow UFC alum Robelis Despaigne (5-2 MMA, 6-0 KC) for his latest title defense.

Promotion officials recently announced the match-up, which will headline Karate Combat 58, set to take place on December 5, 2025 in Miami, Florida.

It won’t be a walk in the park for Alvey. Since exiting the UFC on a two-fight skid, Despaigne has been a beast for Karate Combat. He’s 6-0 with the promotion, which includes winning three fights in a single night, including stoppages of fellow UFC alums Zac Pagua and Tim Johnson, to win the promotion’s Last Man Standing tournament.

Alvey, who finished his UFC career on an 0-8-1 run, is 4-0, 1NC in five appearances for the Karate-based promotion. The No Contest saw Alvey unable to continue after being on the receiving end of a headbutt from Antonio Arroyo. “Smile’n” Sam got his revenge in an immediate rematch, stopping Arroyo with punches.

Alvey has three finishes among his four Karate Combat wins, and has successfully defended his heavyweight title twice, after winning it his second appearance for the company.

The post Smile’n Sam Draws Despaigne for Karate Combat Title Defense appeared first on Cageside Press.

Earlier this month, no fewer than 15 names were removed from the promotion’s athlete database. Now, as of Tuesday, eight more have joined them (and nine if you count Jake Hadley, whose exit was confirmed last week).

Among these latest names are former UFC women’s strawweight and The Ultimate Fighter 20 alum Jessica Penne, Olympic medalist Robelis Despaigne, and talented Brazilian flyweight Matheus Nicolau. While Penne recently lost her third straight fight, and Despaigne was coming off back-to-back setbacks, Nicolau remains something of a surprise. While he had lost three straight, those losses had all come to top talents, including title challengers in Alex Perez and Brandon Royval.

The total list of names removed from the roster on Tuesday are below. The changes were first noted by UFC Roster Tracker, an automated service that monitor’s the promotion’s fighter database. Removal doesn’t necessarily mean “cut” – retirement (as in the case of Daniel Pineda) or fighting out a contract can also see a fighter removed.

• Jessica Penne
• Robelis Despaigne
• Matheus Nicolau
• Daniel Pineda
• Tamires Vidal
• Vinicius Salvador
• Charalampos Grigoriou
• Jesse Butler

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Lane was technically 0-2 after an accidental eye poke in his first fight with Justin Tafa ended in a No Contest. Still, he was in must-win territory against Despaigne, who entered off the first loss of his MMA career, to Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Lane circled on the outside early, with Despaigne patiently walking forward, looking for his moment, an opening to strike. Instead, he had a leg caught and wound up dumped on his back just seconds in, with Austen Lane settling into half guard and threatening to pass. Despaigne would at least reclaim full guard, but still had Lane on top, posturing up. To his credit, Despaigne, who medaled at the Olympics in Taekwondo, made his way back to his feet, but Lane remained tattooed to him, and eventually charged across the octagon chasing a takedown, Despaigne backpedaling but unable to escape.

The initial takedown attempt was fought off, but with a minute or so to go, Lane did secure the takedown, and went looking for an arm-triangle choke. With Lane unable to secure position, he switched to ground n’ pound, but Despaigne survived the round. While Lane was the underdog coming into the fight, someone apparently forgot to tell the American that.

Lane went back to that wrestling-heavy approach in round two, but didn’t find the same success that he had through the opening five minutes. Despaigne managed to keep the fight standing, stuffing an attempt by Lane to take him down along the fence. In the back half of the second frame, Despaigne connected upstairs, finally having a chance to get his hands going. In response, Lane drove forward, staying on the takedown attempt until he finally had Despaigne down – with Lane himself in mount.

Unfortunately for Lane, time had almost run down by the time they landed, and the fight went to a third and final round. There, Despaigne looked for a finish, keeping his right hand cocked, jabbing with his left. While the second had been closer, Lane had finished with the takedown; he went back to that well just over a minute into the third, again exploding forward, driving Despaigne into the cage. Despaigne stayed standing, and fired a knee at Laae, who regrouped and continued to pursue the attempt. Despaigne began dropping elbows to the side of the head, but as he did, Lane found the leverage he needed, hoisted Despaigne up, and planted him on his back.

Lane had half the round to work, with Robelis Despaigne nowhere near the fence. He had his guard closed, but wasn’t really doing much off his back, neither in terms of submissions or creating space to scramble. Lane didn’t make it look pretty, but he was effective enough through three rounds to leave little question as to who won the UFC Vegas 99 card opener. Lane would finish the fight on top, passing to mount and giving one last shot at finishing prior to the bell.

Official Result: Austen Lane def. Robelis Despaigne by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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The two-time Olympic gold medalist dominated and submitted a former champion in Holly Holm, announcing her arrival in both the promotion and the bantamweight division. After winning two seasons at lightweight in the PFL, Harrison arrived in the UFC under the microscope (not to mention in the spotlight), one of the biggest free agent signings in years.

That’s the sort of attention you get as the UFC’s first ever double-gold medalist, and despite Dana White dragging the PFL of late, being a double champ there is nothing to sneeze at.

Harrison may be the most decorated Olympian to grace the octagon, however, but she’s far from the only one. Here’s a solid pack of fourteen Olympians who have fought under the UFC banner over the years.

Daniel Cormier

Olympic Result: 4th place, 2004, DNC 2008

As is well known by now, UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, Hall of Famer, and current broadcaster Daniel Cormier’s Olympic dream didn’t end the way he had hoped. After a successful collegiate wrestling career, Cormier joined the U.S. Olympic team and qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. There, the former NCAA Division I All-American with Oklahoma State University came in fourth, losing to Russian Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the semifinal round.

Four years later, Cormier returned to the games, qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China only to have his wrestling career come to a crashing halt. While cutting weight, Cormier’s kidneys began to fail; he was taken to a local hospital, and later pulled from the games.

Stunningly, Cormier would later compete at 205lbs, several pounds less than the weight that saw his body fail him at the Beijing games. He found massive success first in Strikeforce, winning the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix as an alternate, and later the UFC, becoming a rare simultaneous double-champ.

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As always, Despaigne came out swinging, hands down. A head kick (blocked) and a couple of punches were answered with a takedown by Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who definitely appeared a little shell shocked prior to landing the attempt.

Once Cortes-Acosta had the Olympic bronze medal winner on his back, he took his time; Despaigne took advantage of that to shrimp to the fence. Cortes-Acosta then seized on the arm of Robelis, locking in an Americana that at least for a moment appeared treacherous.

Cortes-Acosta couldn’t take advantage and finish the attempt however, though he built up some control time and spent the bulk of the round in the driver’s seat.

Round two, the first of Robelis Despaigne’s career, opened with an exchange of kicks. Cortes-Acosta looked to change levels for a takedown, which Despaigne initially fought off. They came off the fence swinging, a former pitcher versus a former Olympic Taekwondo artist. Despaigne backed Cortes-Acosta up, and connected with a couple of uppercuts and hooks. Waldo fired back with a heavy shot of his own; the more important shot was a takedown that landed with over two minutes still on the clock. It also left Cortes-Acosta in mount.

Yet despite sitting – literally – in mount for basically a full minute, Cortes-Acosta was unable to find the finish, and they went to round three.

The third opened with Despaigne landing leg kick after leg kick, with some authority. Cortes-Acosta did a little showboating, but there was no question those kicks were effective. Despaigne then landed a front kick to the face that Cortes-Acosta ate, displaying a granite chin. But just as Robelis Despaigne was coming on, Cortes-Acosta landed another key takedown. And given Despaigne’s inability to get back up in the first two rounds, the writing was on the wall.

It wasn’t a memorable fight, but it will be a learning experience for Despaigne, who had knocked out Josh Parisian in his debut.

Official Result: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Robelis Despaigne by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

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“I’m ambitious and want to be at the highest level. My goal for my next fight is an opportunity to fight at UFC 300. I want a top 15 or top 10 opponent. I’m ready physically and mentally to take on higher-level opponents,” Despaigne told reporters at his post-fight scrum on Saturday night.

“I know in the top 15 there are two Brazilians. Many are already booked, I don’t really know who is busy, so I’m just thinking about rankings. Top 15 or higher.”

The hope is that he can work his way up to a title shot sooner if the UFC grants him a top opponent sooner than later. Fighting at UFC 300 may be a stretch however with the fight card looking rather complete at this point.

“If everything goes as I hope and they give me a top 15 opponent, then a top 10, top 5, after that we can talk about a title shot. In 4-5 fights I’d like a shot at the title,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Robelis Despaigne above.

* Translated by Cageside Press

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Except for Dustin Poirier. Not to worry, however. “The Diamond” instead shares in Fight of the Night honors alongside Benoit Saint-Denis.

There were plenty of big finishes in sunny Miami on Saturday. Among the standouts was Poirier, of course, who after jumping guard about five times put Saint-Denis away with a vicious hook. A jovially stubborn Poirier insisted backstage that he would never stop jumping the guillotine, even after coaches and teammate Mateusz Gamrot advised him not to.

Curtis Blaydes scored a massive come-from-behind win after being taken down a record number of times in the opening round of his fight with Jailton Almeida. It may have come as a shock to “Razor” Blaydes but he regrouped nicely in round two, putting Almeida out with hammerfists as the Brazilian pursued yet another takedown.

Jack Della Maddalena, who ended Gilbert Burns’ night in violent fashion, newcomer Robelis Despaigne (who finished Josh Parisian in under 20 seconds), and Michel Pereira, who picked up the lone submission win on the card, were the other bonus recipients at UFC 299.

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