Connect with us

MMA

UFC 331 Results: Robelis Despaigne defeats Tai Tuivasa (Highlights)

Published

on

UFC 331 Results: Robelis Despaigne defeats Tai Tuivasa (Highlights)

We have you covered for all of tonight's UFC 331 results, including the heavyweight matchup between Robelis Despaigne and Tai Tuivasa.

Despaigne (6-2 MMA) will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since scoring a first-round knockout victory over former UFC champion Junior dos Santos this past May at MVP MMA's ‘Rousey vs. Carano' event (see that here). Prior to that triumph, ‘The Bad Boy' was coming off back-to-back decision losses to Austen Lane and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Meanwhile, Tai Tuivasa (14-10 MMA) will enter tonight's contest with hopes of snapping a seven-fight losing skid. ‘Bam Bam' most previously competed this past May at UFC Perth, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Louie Sutherland. The 33-year-old earned his last UFC win way back in February of 2022, when he knocked out Derrick Lewis.

Round one of this UFC 331 heavyweight matchup begins and Robelis Despaigne comes forward with his hands way down by his hips. He catches Tuivasa with a punch coming in. Another good combination. Now Tai Tuivasa with a big flurry and a huge right. Despaigne catches ‘Bam Bam' with a counter and the Aussie drops. Tuivasa is right back up and firing off shots. The fighters clinch and Robelis scores a trip takedown and winds up on top on the ground in full guard. He moves to half guard. Three minutes remain. Tai Tuivasa is bleeding from that big right hook he ate earlier. Robelis Despaigne passes to full mount. He begins raining down shots. Tuivasa gives up his back. Despaigne makes a mistake briefly that almost allows the Aussie to take top position. We return to the feet and Tuivasa lands a big elbow. Ninety seconds remain in the opening round. Tai takes down his massive opponent. He moves to half guard. He has one minute to work. Big elbows from ‘Bam Bam'. He works in some body shots. Now he locks in an arm-triangle choke. It looks like Robelis Despaigne will survive and he does.

Round two begins and Robelis Despaigne is still breathing heavy to start this second round. Tai Tuivasa comes forward with a flurry. He clips the big man with a heavy shot. ‘The Bad Boy' is in trouble. Tuivasa presses him against the cage. He looks for a single leg takedown, but Despaigne defends. A good left hook on the break from ‘Bam Bam'. Robelis Despaigne with a knee and then a right hand that partially connects. Tai Tuivasa dives in for another takedown attempt. He lets that go and then rips off a pair of punches. Robelis Despaigne with a sweep and gets Tuivasa back down to the ground. He lands in side-control and has two minutes to work. The Aussie traps and arm and then gets back to half guard. Not much offense from Robelis yet. One minute remains in the round. A couple of good right hands sneak through. The referee suddenly steps in and stands them back up. Tai rushes forward immediately and forces the clinch. The horn sounds to end the round.

The third and final round begins and Robelis Despaigne misses with a left hook. Tai Tuivasa misses with a low kick. A second one connects and sends the big man down to a knee. Tuivasa rushes in and forces the clinch. He pushes Despaigne against the cage. A big body shot and then a right hand from ‘Bam Bam'. He looks to land another but Robelis counters with a big left. Tai decides to clinch again. Less than three minutes remain. Both men start swinging wildly. Tuivasa eats a big shot. He immediately forces the clinch and then drops for a takedown. Two minutes remain and the fighters separate and move to distance. That doesn't last as Tai quickly forces the clinch. Robelis Despaigne is able to score a hip toss and winds up on top and in half guard. This is a big moment for him. He lands a pair of short right hands. More shorts punches. Tuivasa returns to his feet with ten seconds left. He swings a few bombs but nothing connects flush. The horn sounds to end the fight.

Official UFC 331 Results: Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Who would you like to see Despaigne fight next following his victory over Tuivasa this evening in Los Angeles? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Ciryl Gane defended from cheater accusations by two former UFC champions: "He wasn’t going for it on purpose"

Published

on

Ciryl Gane defended from cheater accusations by two former UFC champions: "He wasn’t going for it on purpose"

Two former UFC titleholders are coming to the defense of Ciryl Gane amid a cheater label.

Some believe that Gane has bent the rules in his favor in past fights, particularly with eye pokes and illegal strikes. “Bon Gamin†came under fire for his double eye poke foul against Tom Aspinall, who still hasn't fought since Oct. 2025 due to his injuries. Gane was also scrutinized for landing illegal elbows to the back of Alex Pereira's head in their UFC Freedom 250 fight back in June.

While some have called Gane a cheater, former rivals Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw disagree with that notion. During a recent edition of the “Love & War Podcast,†Cruz said that during his fighting days, he'd take the blame himself if he was ever got poked in the eye (via MMAFighting).

“I always said if you can poke me in my f*cking eye, I'm doing something wrong,†Cruz said. “You can punch me in my head. Trying to my head is so f*cking hard, if you can poke me in the eye, that's my problem, so we agree on that and I think that's why he's not a cheater.â€

Dillashaw agreed with Cruz, saying that he thinks people have the wrong idea about Gane over his accidental fouls.

“I don't think he is [a cheater],†Dillashaw said. “It's gotten blown out of the water since the Pereira fight. Obviously, everyone's a Pereira fan and they wanted him to win and they want to call the illegal blows. He wasn't going for it on purpose and Pereira's moving his head as he's hitting those. I think Herb Dean's unfortunately catching a lot of flack as well, too.â€

Gane was promoted as the UFC heavyweight champion due to Aspinall remaining sidelined. He will put his gold at stake against Josh Hokit in the UFC 334 main event on Nov. 14 in New York City.

Do you think the cheater label towards Ciryl Gane is unfair, or have you seen enough fouls to the point where it's justified? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Continue Reading

MMA

Morning Report: Dominick Cruz, T.J. Dillashaw defend Ciryl Gane against ‘cheater’ accusations

Published

on

Morning Report: Dominick Cruz, T.J. Dillashaw defend Ciryl Gane against ‘cheater’ accusations

I don’t know if we’ve collectively come down from the high of UFC 333, but we’ve got APEX action this weekend with Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan headlining UFC Vegas 123.

Moicano vs. Nolan falls into one of 2026’s matchmaking trends, that of the longtime contender vs. the streaking up and comer. When we last saw Moicano, he was snapping a two-fight losing streak with an impressive win over Chris Duncan in the UFC Vegas 115 main event; now, he defends his top 15 spot again against the rising Tom Nolan, who has won five straight fights after a stoppage loss in his UFC debut.

Can “Money” slow down “Big Train” on Saturday night?

Continue Reading

MMA

Paulo Costa slams UFC pay after Rampage Jacksons $7 million claim

Published

on

Paulo Costa slams UFC pay after Rampage Jackson's $7 million claim
Paulo
Costa has renewed his criticism of fighter pay in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A resurfaced clip shows UFC middleweight champion Sean
Strickland asking former light heavyweight champion Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson about his biggest UFC payday. Jackson said he
earned $7 million, including pay-per-view compensation, for
fighting Chuck
Liddell. Costa contrasted that figure with his estimate of what
a current UFC fighter earns.

Paulo Costa compares Rampage Jackson’s claimed $7 million
payday with estimated Raoni Barcelos earnings

Jackson attributed the payday to a contract he signed with World
Fighting Alliance, where he said his manager also had a promotional
role. According to Jackson, the deal included lucrative
pay-per-view terms that the UFC inherited when its parent company
acquired WFA assets in December 2006.

“$7 million, Chuck Liddell, that was pay-per-view, though,†Jackson
told Strickland. “I left
Pride. My manager, he became like the manager of the show. So,
he knew exactly that it was his biggest deal. They didn't want to
have pay-per-view, so he gave me a crazy pay-per-view deal. Then
Dana White bought WFA and had to honor my pay-per-view deal.â€

Costa compared Jackson's account with Raoni
Barcelos' stoppage loss to Raul Rosas
Jr. last month. Barcelos, 39, lost consciousness during a
fifth-round grappling exchange. Costa speculated that Barcelos
earned between $80,000 and $100,000, contrasting that estimate with
Jackson's claimed earnings from his 2007 victory over Liddell.

“UFC paid Rampage 7 million to fight Chuck what is comprehensive,â€
Costa wrote on X. “Not comparing fighters relevance but comparing
it with Barcelos x Rosas Jr 5 rds and had serious injuries on brain
damage, made 80k~100k ?? Raoni Barcelos is around 40s and probably
retired due to that injury.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending