Overview
- First Round Management announced that Despaigne has signed back with the UFC after nearly two years away from the promotion.
- He was released by the UFC following back-to-back losses in October 2024 to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane.
- After leaving the UFC, Despaigne ran 7-0 in Karate Combat, won that promotion’s heavyweight title, and knocked out Sam Alvey earlier this year.
- A first-round knockout of former UFC champion Junior dos Santos on a Netflix MMA card raised his public profile and prompted promoters to pitch a Ngannou fight, a matchup now reported to be off the table.
- At 6'7" with an Olympic bronze in taekwondo, Despaigne’s return highlights how fighters can use alternate promotions and spectacle events to rebuild value and force major-promotion re-engagement.