Cuban heavyweight sensation Robelis Despaigne makes his promotional debut at UFC 299 with an astonishing 87-inch reach.
Going by the moniker ‘The Big Boy’, Despaigne stands around 6’6” tall and has an enormous 87-inch reach, the longest wingspan officially recorded in the UFC roster to date.
The 4-0 Cuban will take on Josh Parisian on the UFC 299 prelims and, as per DraftKings Sportsbook, is the third-biggest favorite on the card behind Assu Almabayev and Mateusz Gamrot in terms of betting lines.
Robelis Despaigne has the longest reach in the UFC on record
With an 87-inch reach, Robelis Despaigne will have the longest reach on official UFC records when he steps into the octagon this weekend to face Parisian.
For reference, Jon Jones and ‘The Skyscraper’ himself Stefan Struve each have an 84.5-inch reach, both slightly longer than Francis Ngannou whose wingspan extends to around 83 inches.
The 35-year-old Despaigne previously competed for the Titan FC and Fury promotions, with his last three fights all ending within seconds of the opening round.
In fact, the Cuban has finished all three of his last opponents by KO in a combined time of just 19 seconds: four seconds, three seconds, and 12 seconds respectively.
Making his UFC debut at 35 years old might otherwise be cause for concern, but Despaigne is a lifelong athlete and is eager to show his worth on the big Miami stage come Saturday evening.
Before making the jump to mixed martial arts, he competed on the national team of taekwondo in Cuba where he earned a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and a 4th Dan black belt along the way.
Whilst ‘The Big Boy’ does have the biggest wingspan on the official UFC records, he doesn’t technically have the longest reach out of all professional fighters.
According to Tapology, Polish MMA athlete Kacper Kzdunczyk has an astonishing 89.5-inch reach, whilst boxer Julius Long and kickboxer Mohamed Dadouch both have longer reaches than Despaigne at 90-inches and 87.8-inches respectively.
Dutch fighter Semmy Schilt, who fought on UFC 31 and UFC 32 in 2001, is reported to have had the longest reach in UFC history at 88-inches before stats were officially recorded by the promotion.
Despaigne faces Josh Parisian at UFC 299, who is himself on a two-fight losing streak and has the cards stacked against him with an 8-inch reach disadvantage to overcome.
UFC 299 goes down this weekend from the Kaseya Center in Miami, headlined by Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera 2.
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