Alex Pereira is teasing a potential move to heavyweight for a third UFC title, and Robelis Despaigne, a 6-foot-7 knockout artist, believes “Poatan” has what it takes to shine at heavyweight.
Despaigne looks to go 6-0 in 2025 when he challenges Sam Alvey for the Karate Combat championship this Friday in Florida, and he sparred with the UFC light heavyweight champion days before Despaigne’s match at Fusion X-Cel Performance in Orlando.
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“I actually wasn’t going to go that day because the day before I had a very hard training session at my gym, I did a lot of sparring rounds,” Despaigne told MMA Fighting, “But the coach from the Orlando gym contacted me and told me to come because Pereira’s coach wanted him to train with a heavyweight they brought in, a really big guy. So I went, and I did a round with Pereira, and it was very productive for both of us. I didn’t think that sparring session would go so viral, but yeah, it was very productive.”
Pereira started his UFC career as a middleweight and moved up a division after losing the belt to Israel Adesanya. He won, defended, and recently reclaimed the 205-pound title with a first-round knockout of Magomed Ankalaev.
“Honestly, Pereira is a heavyweight,” Despaigne said. “To me, he’s a heavyweight who cuts down to 205 pounds. He has heavyweight power, he weighs 240-something, he’s weighing basically the same as, I don’t know, Ciryl Gane in competition shape. He’s a heavyweight who cuts to 205, and he could even afford to make 185 if he wanted to. He can do whatever he wants.”
Pereira and Jon Jones are campaigning for a superfight at UFC’s planned card at the White House in 2026, and Despaigne wouldn’t be surprised if “Poatan” becomes the first to truly beat Jones in MMA.
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“If Jon Jones makes a mistake, you know he can put him to sleep,” Despaigne said. “Not easily — we know Jon Jones’ quality. It’s going to be a very anticipated fight, a big box-office fight because both of them have a big fan base and very strong numbers. It’ll be a very good fight. That’s what I think. Each has their strengths, Pereira has his striking, and Jon Jones, you know, I imagine will try to take advantage of his wrestling. Let’s see who wins.”
Despaigne and Alvey, who meet Friday night for the Karate Combat title, are UFC veterans who have found better success inside the KC pit. Alvey recently claimed the heavyweight belt with a massive knockout of veteran striker Tyrone Spong, and that’s something Despaigne didn’t see coming.
“We all thought he could lose his last title defense but no, he knocked him out easily,” Despaigne said. “It looked pretty easy. I know it wasn’t actually easy because his opponent was very experienced, but he still capitalized, surprised him, and beat him relatively easily. It didn’t surprise me that he won, what surprised me was the way he won. I thought it would be a fight that would stretch at least into the third or fourth round, but it didn’t.”
The Cuban heavyweight is an Olympic bronze medalist in Taekwondo and earned a shot at the gold with three wins in one night back in July, defeating Saulo Cavalari, Tim Johnson, and Zac Pauga.
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“He’s not champion of the division by accident,” Despaigne said of Alvey. “He’s held the belt for a long time. He’s an athlete, and as everyone knows, a former UFC fighter. He knows what it is to fight, he knows what it is to compete for a title, and I think it’s going to be a very tough fight. He’s very strong, and I know he’s going to try everything possible to win. It’s going to be a good fight. … What matters is winning, right? The way you win doesn’t matter. I’m going to go out there and do my job, same as always. Wait for him to make a mistake and do everything we’ve trained for.”
