Preview: UFC on ESPN 56 ‘Lewis vs. Nascimento’

Heavyweights

Robelis Despaigne (5-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1, 4-1 UFC)

ODDS: Despaigne (-192), Cortes-Acosta (+160)

If nothing else, Despaigne is one of the most fascinating heavyweight prospects to come around in a while. A former Olympic medalist for Cuba in taekwondo, Despaigne’s success has hinged on three basic facts: He’s big, he’s weird and he hits hard. Save for an ugly professional debut where he still scored a first-round knockout, all of Despaigne’s competition has essentially gone down on the first strike he throws. Almost none of it’s pretty, but it’s thrown with enough force from angles that catch opponents unawares that everything still immediately works. Given that Despaigne is already 35 years old, it’s worth rushing him along quickly, which the UFC is on board with. About two months after a successful UFC debut against Josh Parisian, he’s back in action for a big step up against Cortes-Acosta.

Cortes-Acosta is another heavyweight that’s mostly coasted along on his physical gifts. A converted baseball player, Cortes-Acosta doesn’t have much defense built into his game and can often waste time taunting his opponents, but he’s durable enough to string together three consistent rounds and even score the occasional knockout. This is basically the big proof of concept fight for Despaigne, as Cortes-Acosta has UFC-level durability while also being willing to eat every bit of offense that comes his way. The Cuban seems worth the flier, though he could also flame out spectacularly after about a minute of fighting. The pick is Despaigne via first-round knockout.

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Lewis vs. Nascimento
Buckley vs. Ruziboev
Ulberg vs. Menifield
Rebecki vs. Ferreira
Woodson vs. Caceres
Despaigne vs. Cortes-Acosta
The Prelims