Robelis Despaigne, fighter with longest reach in UFC history, to debut at UFC 299
Cuban taekwondo Olympian Robelis Despaigne (4-0) will make his UFC debut against Josh Parisian (15-7) at UFC 299 on March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
The 6’7″ behemoth from Cuba has an impressive 87-inch reach which will go into the record books once he steps foot inside the octagon. Despaigne’s manager, AJ Ariosa, of First Round Management shared a photo of fighter’s size on Twitter.
“For reference Here’s a picture of his 87 inch reach (longest reach in ufc history) he’s around 4-5 people wide.”
For reference Here’s a picture of his 87 inch reach (longest reach in ufc history) he’s around 4-5 people wide pic.twitter.com/d3gialJXNs
— AJ Ariosa (@AjAriosa) December 4, 2023
Currently, the longest reach in UFC history was Dan “The Sandman” Christison whose reach tallied 85 inches. UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones boasts an 84.5″ reach, tied with former UFC heavyweight Stefan “Skyskraper” Struve.
Other notable lengths include Sergei Pavlovich with 84″, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou at 83″, Curtis “Razor” Blaydes at 82.5″ and Cheick Kongo at 82″.
Despaigne won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in the 80kg weight class. He also is a two-time bronze medalist in the World Championships (2013 and 2015).
