Towering Cuban heavyweight Robelis Despaigne made a devastating UFC debut as he won his fight in 18 seconds.

Despaigne is one of the most promising stars in MMA, and made his UFC bow on Saturday night on the undercard of Sean O’Malley’s bantamweight title defence against Michael Vera.

He took on Josh Parisian in Miami, but the bout was short-lived, with Despaigne dealing with his opponent good time to earn to Performance of the Night award for the event.

In doing do, he secured the second-fastest knockout for a debuting heavyweight in UFC history, behind Todd Duffee’s seven seconds against Tim Hague in 2009.

Having dispatched of his last three opponents in a combined 19 seconds, Despaigne, who said he will be ready for a title fight ‘in four or five fights’, took a little longer to deal with Parisian, but can be forgiven given his impressive striking inside the cage.

Robelis Despaigne made his UFC debut on Saturday and delivered a staggering early knockout

He beat Josh Parisian in Miami after just 18 seconds as he put the heavyweight division on notice

He signed for the UFC in December following success early on in his MMA career elsewhere

The taekwondo Olympic bronze medalist started off the bout with a strong right hand and head kick to asset his dominance in the opening few seconds of the fight.

Parisian tried to move forward, but Despaigne, 27, delivered a brutal right hand to floor his opponent and bring an end to proceedings.

He threw a few more punches before the referee stepped in, but had asserted his dominance and put the heavyweight division on notice so early on in his career.

The giant will now have to face tougher opponents, but looks more than ready to make the step up next time out.

The giant had won his last three fights in under 20 combined, including a three-second KO

With a background in combat sports, Despaigne made his MMA debut in June 2022 at Titan FC 77, beating Katuma Mulumba in the first round via a TKO stoppage.

In 2023, he began competing on Fury cards and started to dismantle opponents, knocking out Travis Gregoire in 12 seconds in June, Stevie Payne in three seconds in September and Miles Banks in four seconds in December.

Later that month, he signed with the UFC and has now put the heavyweight division on notice.