Robelis Despaigne Returns With UFC 331 Win

Robelis Despaigne needed all three rounds to make a winning UFC return. The Cuban heavyweight defeated Tai Tuivasa by split decision at UFC 331 on September 19, surviving a scrappy contest in Los Angeles in which both men found themselves attacking from positions they rarely occupy.

Two judges awarded Despaigne the fight 29-28, while the remaining judge scored it 29-28 for Tuivasa. The result was Despaigne’s first decision victory and his second UFC win overall. For Tuivasa, it extended a difficult run to eight consecutive defeats in the promotion.

The bout had plenty of heavy punches, but its decisive passages also came in the clinch and on the ground. Despaigne used trips and throws to regain the initiative when Tuivasa was pushing forward. Tuivasa answered with a takedown of his own, elbows from top position and an arm-triangle attempt. Neither man had a comfortable route through the full 15 minutes.

A heavyweight return settled by more than power

Despaigne had earned another UFC opportunity after knocking out former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos at an MVP MMA event in May. His earlier UFC run had ended following decision losses to Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane. Against Tuivasa, simply landing the first hard punch was not enough to produce the quick finish associated with his previous wins.

He hurt Tuivasa early and followed a trip into top position, eventually reaching mount. The Australian remained in the contest and changed the direction of the round late, taking Despaigne down and working from half guard. Tuivasa landed elbows and body shots before threatening an arm-triangle, which Despaigne survived.

The second round featured another set of reversals. Tuivasa pressed Despaigne toward the cage after connecting on the feet, but Despaigne eventually swept him and returned to top position. The exchanges were untidy, with both men tiring and moving between bursts of punching and prolonged clinch work.

Tuivasa again tried to force the pace in the third. A low kick put Despaigne briefly on one knee, and the Australian pushed him back into the fence. Despaigne later answered with a hip toss that left him on top in half guard, where he delivered short punches before Tuivasa got up near the final horn.

Despaigne finds a different way to win

Before this bout, each of Despaigne’s professional MMA victories had come by knockout in the first round. The Tuivasa fight forced him to deal with a very different set of problems: fatigue, an opponent who kept returning fire and the need to make his work count late rather than waiting for one decisive blow.

His takedowns were particularly important when the standing exchanges began to favor Tuivasa. They interrupted the Australian’s pressure and allowed Despaigne to use his size from top position. That did not make his grappling flawless; Tuivasa’s success in the opening round showed how quickly those positions could reverse.

The contest tested three parts of Despaigne’s game that a short knockout cannot reveal:

• He had to recover from difficult stretches on the feet while still finding ways to close the distance.
• He had to defend on the ground after Tuivasa secured top position and threatened a submission.
• He had to produce useful offense late in the fight, when both men were tired and the verdict remained undecided.

The split decision is a reason to keep the assessment measured. Despaigne returned successfully, but one judge preferred Tuivasa’s work. It was a competitive win that demonstrated another route to victory, rather than proof that every weakness from his first UFC run had disappeared.

For Tuivasa, the outcome adds to a losing streak that UFC’s recap noted now matches Tony Ferguson’s eight consecutive defeats. Tuivasa still created danger and earned a scorecard, but his pressure did not prevent Despaigne from putting him on the canvas during important stretches. Those positional losses left the Australian with another close result to absorb.

Despaigne moves forward with a win that required more patience and endurance than his earlier finishes. The late throw and ground offense gave him something productive to return to when the striking became chaotic. Keeping those options available, while reducing the openings he gave Tuivasa, will matter as he tries to make this second UFC spell last.