Boxing champions will keep one eye on the UFC after Dana White pulled off a coup by signing a heavyweight bulldozer in Robelis Despaigne.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship swooped in to nail down the six-foot-seven-inch Cuban Olympic taekwondo medalist.
Incredibly, Despiagne has stopped his last three opponents by knockout in just six, three, and thirteen seconds.
Despaigne won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He competed in the +80 kg event. Anthony Obame defeated him in the semi-final before he won the bronze by default due to a walkover.
Heavyweight Robelis Despaigne
Taking a match to transition into MMA on June 3, 2022, at Titan FC 77, Despaigne took almost the full five minutes to knock Katuma Mulumba out on his debut.
However, that would merely be the beginning before a stunning three-bout sequence.
Three weeks later, Despaigne took out Travis Gregoire in twelve seconds. He followed that up with a three-second stunner against Stevie Payne and a six-second haul against Miles Banks last time out.
The striking juggernaut will be particularly interesting to current boxing superstars Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, who are eyeing exhibitions against UFC stars.
Despaigne can end a fight with either his fists or his legs. But most of those battering ram endings have come through punches.
Potential boxing crossover fight
It bodes well for a future collision in the ilk of Fury vs Francis Ngannou. Predictions are that Despaigne will make an immediate impact in the UFC ranks.
If he can climb the ladder in a super-quick time, those pugilistic column inches will extend month-by-month. At 35, Despaigne can waste little time until taking on the best the UFC has to offer.
It’s been a long time since there’s been such a boxing buzz about an MMA heavyweight entering the big leagues in another code. The Fury vs Ngannou showdown can be thanked for that.
The fact that Ngannou knocked Fury down and took him the distance in Saudi Arabia has erased some of the stigma against MMA strikers being able to box.
For the immediate future, interim UFC champion Tom Aspinall would undoubtedly be a target for Despaigne in the next twelve months to two years. He could then look at Fury or Wilder before they retire.
All eyes will be on Robelis Despaigne when the UFC confirms his debut for the company.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
