Robelis Despaigne Knocks Out Junior dos Santos in Round 1

robelis despaigne stopped Junior dos Santos in the first round at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano on Saturday, ending the heavyweight bout at 2:59. The win gave Despaigne a marquee result over a former UFC heavyweight champion on the first-ever MMA fight on Netflix.

Despaigne Lands the Finish

Despaigne, who entered at 5-2, closed the fight quickly after dos Santos began to stumble. “I saw him stumbling and he kicked me on the leg first, and I kept calm, and I saw him stumbling and that’s when I struck,” Despaigne said after the bout through a Spanish translator.

The knockout came in round 1 and left no doubt about the result. Despaigne had lost his previous two MMA fights before this one, so the finish immediately changed the tone around his return to the sport.

dos Santos Brings the Resume

Dos Santos entered with a 23-10 record and the label of former UFC heavyweight champion. His past includes wins over Cain Velasquez, Stipe Miocic, Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Cro Cop, Derrick Lewis and Frank Mir, which made Saturday’s matchup a major step up for Despaigne.

He had also competed recently under modified rules for Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, where he knocked out Alan Belcher and beat Fabricio Werdum. That run ended his UFC period, which closed in 2020 with four consecutive losses, and it set up a different kind of test in Los Angeles.

Intuit Dome Crowd Sees a Shift

The fight took place at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, with Despaigne carrying the heavier betting line at -320 and dos Santos listed at +235. Those numbers reflected the market’s view before the bout, but the result still landed as the more meaningful line on the card.

Despaigne also said he wants to return to MMA, and Saturday’s knockout gives him a clear opening to do it with a win over a recognizable name. For dos Santos, the loss adds another setback in a career that now includes a failed comeback effort in a high-profile debut on the sport’s biggest streaming stage.