Robelis
Despaigne believes experience outside the Octagon has prepared
him for a second run in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Despaigne had finished all four of his pro fights within a combined
cage time of 5:13 when he made his UFC debut in 2024. The Olympic
taekwondo bronze medalist lived up to his hype by finishing
Josh
Parisian in 18 seconds in his promotional debut. However,
Despaigne's flaws were exposed as he was outwrestled in consecutive
losses against Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and Austen
Lane.

Robelis Despaigne details his improved ground game before
facing Tai Tuivasa at UFC 331

Despaigne (6-2) was released from the UFC in 2024 and went on to
compete in Karate Combat, where he won the heavyweight title. “The
Bad Boy†returned to mixed martial arts competition this past May
with a first-round knockout win over Junior dos
Santos at
Most Valuable Promotions' inaugural MMA event.

Despaigne has now re-signed with the UFC and is scheduled to begin
his second run against Tai Tuivasa
(14-10) at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. He feels more confident in his
second UFC run after gaining experience outside the Octagon. The
Cuban also believes he has significantly developed his ground game
since his first UFC stint. Despaigne still has the lofty goal of
becoming a UFC champion.

“I am happy to be back and thankful to the UFC for giving me the
opportunity to make my return,†Despaigne said in a recent
interview. “I gained about a year of experience outside of the UFC.
And now that I'm returning, I have much more confidence in myself.
The main difference is that I've got a lot of experience and I've
worked on my ground game. I feel as if it's a welcome party and I'm
gonna give it my all to get the victory… As always, I'm highly
ambitious and my goal is to get the UFC belt.â€

“I gained about a year of experience outside
of the UFC and now I feel much more confident.”

Robelis
Despaigne returns to the Octagon looking to make a run to the
heavyweight belt #CryptoCom
#UFC331

Fight by Fight Preview âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/2W2Xoossxa pic.twitter.com/hy3tN4gAKU

— UFC News (@UFCNews)
September 16, 2026

Paulo
Costa claims he has been drug-tested around 200 times.

Arman
Tsarukyan, who is scheduled to fight Mauricio
Ruffy on Sept. 19, recently received a clean record jacket from
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for 50 successful drug tests.
Costa subsequently took to social media to demand a jacket of his
own.

Paulo Costa reacts to Arman Tsarukyan's 50-test UFC
milestone

Reacting to a video of Tsarukyan receiving the milestone jacket,
Costa asked for his own, claiming to have been drug-tested 200
times.

“I keep asking where is my f*ck 200 tests Ugly jacket son of a
b*tchessssss,†Costa posted on X.

Costa is among the UFC's most tested athletes. While “Borrachinhaâ€
never tested positive for any banned substances, he accepted a
six-month suspension from the UFC's then-drug testing partner,
USADA, in 2019 for using an IV infusion to recover from a weight
cut. Costa has previously complained about drug testing authorities
turning up at his residence early in the morning while he was on a
tough weight cut. Costa’s frequent testing history gave him the
idea to come up with his “Secret Juice,†which has now turned into
a brand.

The Brazilian has one fight left on his UFC contract. He recently
campaigned for an interim light heavyweight title fight, and claims
the UFC wasn't interested and is repeatedly stalling his Octagon
return.

I keep asking where is my f*ck 200 tests
Ugly jacket son of a bitchessssss https://t.co/dzfhXIUrxc

— Paulo
Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA)
September 16, 2026

Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja were respectful and cordial during every interaction leading up to their first encounter but the same can't be said for the rematch at UFC 331.