Robelis Despaigne to Take on Austen Lane at October Fight Night Card

Robelis Despaigne (5-1) is slated to trade leather against Austen Lane (12-5) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas in Oct. 19. The matchup was first announced on Monday by Despaigne on Instagram, and later confirmed by multiple outlets. The two will tangle on a currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night show that currently only has its headliner announced between Michel Pereira and Anthony Hernandez.

2012 taekwondo Olympic bronze medalist Despaigne started his MMA career with four consecutive first-round knockouts, combining for 5:13 of total cage time. His UFC debut in March went swimmingly, as the Cuban crushed Josh Parisian in 18 seconds at UFC 299. “The Bad Boy” was then matched up against Waldo Cortes-Acosta in a quick turnaround at UFC St. Louis in May, but that did not go so well for him. Cortes-Acosta derailed the 6-foot-7 striker by outwrestling him to earn a unanimous decision win.

Meanwhile, former NFL defensive end Lane is yet to pick up his first UFC victory since getting signed from his second stint on Dana White's Contender Series. Lane’s promotional debut went poorly, as he and Justin Tafa’s match resulted in a no-contest when Lane inadvertently poked Tafa’s eye. The two ran it back less than three months later, and Tafa smashed him in 82 seconds. Lane returned in April, only to get drummed out by Jhonata Diniz. The two heavyweights in this affair celebrate 16 knockouts across their 17 victories, with all of Lane’s career defeats coming due to strikes.

Reference: https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Robelis-Despaigne-to-Take-on-Austen-Lane-at-October-Fight-Night-Card-194481