Netflix’s first MMA fight sees 42-year-old former UFC champion brutally knocked out

Junior dos Santos was flattened in one round in the first MMA fight ever to be broadcast on Netflix.

The former UFC heavyweight champion fought Robelis Despaigne on the main card of Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Saturday night.

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The card, promoted by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), featured some of MMA’s biggest stars, including Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz.

After venturing into boxing with the likes of Paul’s fights against Mike Tyson and Anthony Joshua, Netflix went into the world of mixed martial arts for the first time on Saturday night.

Both Rousey and Carano, two female fighting legends, were making comebacks after lengthy retirements, with the latter having lost over 100lbs in two years to make weight.

What happened in first-ever Netflix MMA fight?

Dos Santos got off to a good start, landing several crushing leg kicks on the lead leg of his opponent.

While Despaigne, an Olympic Bronze medallist in taekwondo, kept his hands very low and boasted his typical karate stance in the opening exchanges.

And it was the Cuban heavyweight who hit the canvas first after being dropped briefly with another damaging leg kick.

However, Despaigne got straight back up and grew into the fight instantly, landing two sharp right hands.

The 37-year-old then cracked Dos Santos with a massive uppercut before stunning him again.

All of a sudden, Despaigne hit Dos Santos with a slick right-left-right combination, and the fight was all but over.

Dos Santos, who was also part of the UFC’s inaugural fight on Fox in 2011, was out instantly and didn’t know where he was in worrying scenes when he eventually woke up.

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“I’m so happy with the work I’ve put in to get me here,” Despaigne said via a translator after his win.

“I saw him stumbling; he kicked me on the legs first, and that’s when I struck.”

Despaigne then called out Ngannou, as he had done in the build-up to the Rousey vs Carano show, backing his fellow heavyweight to defeat Philipe Lins higher up the bill.

It was the first time Despaigne had competed in MMA since October 2024, when he was defeated in his final UFC fight.

He then signed for Karate Combat and made his debut two months later, becoming the promotion’s heavyweight champion in December last year.

Dos Santos, meanwhile, hadn’t fought in MMA since May 2022, but had won both of his last two fights in Jorge Masvidal‘s Gamebred Bareknuckle promotion.

Rousey vs Carano: More results

Prelims

• Namo Fazil def. Jake Babian via second-round submission
• Adriano Moraes def. Phumi Nkuta via third-round submission
• Jason Jackson def. Jeff Creighton via first-round KO
• David Mgoyan def. Albert Morales via unanimous decision
• Aline Pereira def. Jade Masson-Wong via split decision
• Brandon Jenkins def. Chris Avila via split decision

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The 42-year-old from Santa Catarina, Brazil, is widely viewed as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

He won the UFC heavyweight title in November 2011 with a first-round KO of Cain Velasquez and defended it seven months later against Frank Mir.

Dos Santos then dropped the belt to Velasquez in a rematch and failed to reclaim it in a 2013 trilogy.