Hulking brand-new UFC signee Robelis Despaigne information journey from Olympics to MMA, promises to be champ

A mix of relief, surprise, and vindication setoff feeling from 6’7″ heavyweight Robelis Despaigne as he got news the UFC formally made him an deal throughout Sunday’s Fury FC 84 occasion in Houston.

“It’s lastly tookplace,” Despaigne justrecently informed MMA Junkie. “My dream lastly tookplace.”

It was a spontaneous and extraordinary relocation by the UFC, particularly heavyweight department matchmaker Mick Maynard, however it came after a unusual event.

Despaigne notched a four-second knockout versus Miles Banks – awareness nabbed in the blink of an eye. The win integrated with Despaigne’s 2 previous clocked in at a tremendous overall of 19 seconds. The mostcurrent surface sentout the MMA social media neighborhood into a craze.

“I knocked him out. They raised my hand and I was pulled for an interview,” Despaigne stated. “When I came back, I spoke to my supervisor AJ Ariosa actually 2 minutes after the battle and he informed me, ‘Hey, you’re signed to the UFC.’ Three minutes after that, they revealed it in the cage. That’s how it tookplace.”

Despaigne confesses, his fast MMA success hasactually surpassed his expectations. Four surfaces in 4 battles with 3 of them in a matter of seconds. But whether it was now or lateron, Despaigne felt predestined for UFC prestige. His martial arts roots run muchdeeper than cage-fighting, after all.

“I’ve stunned myself getting those 3 wins so quickly,” Despaigne stated. “I train a lot and they do analyze the challengers as much as possible. There you go. That’s what occurs.”

Despaigne, 35, grew up in Cuba and started taekwondo at age 9. Seven years lateron, he made the nationwide group – which he was a part of for 15 years. During that stretch, Despaigne represented his nation in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He medaled bronze in the heavyweight class.

“It was fantastic,” Despaigne stated. “Since Cuba’s Angel Valodia Matos won the Olympics (in 2000), I looked up to him. Every individual that is an amateur, that’s the greatest competition you can go to. You’re representing your nation. … Once I got to that, I had to leave with a medal. Of course, I desired gold. But I had to leave with a medal for my nation.”

Even throughout his taekwondo peak, Despaigne heard the rumblings. The prominent voices got louder and louder, upuntil Despaigne provided in to their needs.

“I was losing love for the sport in2012 A lot was going on in Cuba where I wasn’t actually pleased about the sport,” Despaigne stated. “I was caring love of it. My coach kept on informing me to do MMA. But all I hadactually seen about the UFC and MMA was knockouts. I was like, ‘I puton’t desire to get knocked out.’ I was hesitant about it. But then I began enjoying the battle and was like, ‘I can really do this. I’m going to go ahead and shot this.’ Yeah, that’s what occurred. That’s why I went into MMA.”