Tai Tuivasa vs. Robelis Despaigne: UFC 331 AI Prediction, Results and Highlights
Results and highlights will be added after the fight. The original prediction will remain unchanged.
Tai Tuivasa versus Robelis Despaigne has a simple statistical hook:
20 of their 21 combined professional MMA victories have come by knockout.
Tuivasa is 15-10 with 14 knockout wins. Despaigne is 6-2 with six knockouts, all in the first round.
They both made heavyweight Friday, with Tuivasa weighing 264.5 pounds and Despaigne 263.
Tuivasa Is Trying to End a Seven-Fight Losing Streak
The difficult part of evaluating Tuivasa isn’t his power.
It’s his trajectory.
UFC lists the Australian heavyweight on a seven-fight losing streak, beginning with his September 2022 defeat against Ciryl Gane and most recently including losses to Tallison Teixeira and Louie Sutherland in 2026.
Sutherland controlled Tuivasa with wrestling in May and won all three rounds, with the scorecards reading 30-26 across the board.
But Tuivasa remains dangerous. His résumé includes knockouts of Derrick Lewis, Augusto Sakai and Greg Hardy.
Despaigne is returning to the UFC after rebuilding outside the promotion.
The former Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist produced three Karate Combat knockouts in a combined 24 seconds, later knocked out Sam Alvey to win the organization’s heavyweight title, and then stopped former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in MMA in May.
His first UFC run exposed the other side of his game. Waldo Cortes-Acosta used wrestling and control to defeat him by unanimous decision, and Despaigne later lost another decision to Austen Lane.
Athlon’s UFC 331 10 Things preview highlighted this matchup’s extreme knockout numbers.
AI Prediction
The Athlon Sports MMA Team model scores seven categories from 1-100. Betting odds are not used.
Category | Tai Tuivasa | Robelis Despaigne |
|---|---|---|
Style — 25% | 88 | 91 |
Recent Form — 20% | 66 | 82 |
Resume — 15% | 94 | 72 |
Damage — 15% | 72 | 94 |
Weight — 10% | 94 | 95 |
Cardio — 10% | 78 | 72 |
Intangibles — 5% | 93 | 84 |
Weighted Score | 82.0 | 85.0 |
Prediction: Robelis Despaigne
Projected Result: KO/TKO, Round 1
Winner Confidence: 66%
Method Confidence: 72%
Deciding factor: recent damage and speed.
Tuivasa has faced vastly better competition, which is why he dominates the Resume category. But repeated losses — several by stoppage — are impossible for the model to ignore.
Despaigne’s flaws are obvious if this becomes a wrestling match or prolonged fight.
Tuivasa isn’t likely to approach it that way.
That turns this into the kind of striking battle where Despaigne’s reach, speed and explosive first-round power become most valuable.
Most likely alternative: Tuivasa by first-round knockout.
The Menifield-Baraniewski prediction covers another UFC 331 fight built around early finishing power, while Athlon’s UFC schedule tracks the promotion’s remaining 2026 events.
More MMA News
- Michael Aswell Jr. vs. Joo Sang Yoo: UFC 331 AI Prediction, Results and Highlights
- Giga Chikadze vs. Joanderson Brito: UFC 331 AI Prediction, Results and Highlights
- Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Brunno Ferreira: UFC 331 AI Prediction, Results and Highlights
- Casey O’Neill vs. Eduarda Moura: UFC 331 AI Prediction, Results and Highlights
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the MMA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.