"Fraud is checked" - Fans react to UFC's "next Francis Ngannou" Robelis Despaigne getting removed from roster after two consecutive losses

A fighter once touted as the second coming of Francis Ngannou has parted ways with the UFC. The UFC Roster Watch handle on X, which often reports on fighters cut from the roster first broke the news on the social media platform, revealing that Robelis Despaigne had been let go.

It came as little surprise given how poorly the Cuban striker has performed as of late. He suffered two back-to-back losses to relatively subpar foes in Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane, with the two losses highlighting a complete lack of defensive wrestling and grappling skill.

On X, fans had a host of reactions to Despaigne's removal. Some, surprisingly, regarded Despaigne's departure as a loss for the UFC.

"Holy L for UFC"

The majority, however, reflected on the Cuban Olympian's limited skill set.

"Fraud is checked"

Others even referenced how foolish they felt for having once compared him to Ngannou.

"Can't believe we were calling him the next Ngannou"

This was echoed by another fan.

"I won't forget [how] Robelis Despaigne put up an impressive KO win on his UFC debut and fans went [too] far to call him the next Francis Ngannou. His lack of ground game defense from his 2 fights is [the] reason why he was [removed] from the UFC. He only fought only a year. Sheesh"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Robelis Despaigne's UFC exit

Despaigne lasted just three fights in the promotion, winning his first in spectacular fashion with a sub-minute knockout. Unfortunately for him, that performance was followed by two listless displays of a seemingly non-existent ground game, leading to two consecutive unanimous decision losses.

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There has been more than one failed 'next' Francis Ngannou

Robelis Despaigne isn't the only heavyweight knockout artist to be compared to Francis Ngannou. Another fighter, who reached much higher levels of success, is Sergei Pavlovich, whose six-fight knockout streak following 'The Predator's' own departure from the UFC drew immediate attention.

Unfortunately, all the buzz died when he lost to Tom Aspinall via first-round knockout for the UFC interim heavyweight title. The situation was worsened following a subsequent unanimous decision loss to Alexander Volkov.