The UFC heads back to St. Louis, Missouri for the first time since 2018 for a stacked fight night event event. Headlining the fight card are two heavy-hitting heavyweight contenders Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento. In this article, we take a look at a main card matchup in the heavyweight division and give out our prediction and pick for the Despaigne-Waldo-Acosta matchup.

Robelis Despaigne (5-0) burst onto the scene with a blistering 18-second knockout in his UFC debut of Josh Parisian. Prior to that knockout, his last three wins fights didn't even last the 18 seconds in his UFC debut. Despaigne is a Cuban Bronze medalist in Taekwondo and made his transition to MMA after his Olympic career was all but over.

His transition to MMA was flawless as he went pro without any amateur experience and won all five of his professional fights by first-round knockout. He has insane intangibles with a height of 6'7" and a reach of 84" which is tied for the longest reach in the UFC with Jon Jones. He uses that reach very well when he's able to keep his opponents at range while he tags them with powerful strikes which is something he will have to do against another technical striker in Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta is a well-respected opponent and a big step up in competition for Despaigne but one that he certainly can get past. The good news for Despaigne is that much like himself, Cortes-Acosta likes to strike which bodes well for the Cuban native. This comes down to whether or not Despaigne can control his emotions and his cardio and not blow his load early as he's never seen a round two in his MMA career. Despaigne is going to need to land the early knockout like he's down time and time again or he's going to have to fight patiently and pick apart Cortes-Acosta at range and if he can do that he can extend his winning streak to six and show that he is a force to be reckoned with in the UFC's heavyweight division.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1) is riding a two-fight winning streak most recently defeating Andrei Arlovski in his last fight. While defeating a legend in Arlovski it was a lackluster performance for Cortes-Acosta who should've run away with that fight. However, Cortes-Acosta was showboating and not fighting as hard as he could making the fight way closer than it should've been.

Cortes-Acosta is still a good striker who is primarily a boxer throwing stinging jabs and combinations as his opponents come within range. He may not possess the knockout power that Despaigne possesses but his technical work on the feet makes him a formidable opponent for anyone in the heavyweight division.

His defensive striking abilities will come a long way in this matchup against Despaigne. He will need to utilize his footwork and his counters to stay out of the path of Despaigne's powerful strikes. It's up to Waldo Cortes-Acosta to fight smart and not engage in a firefight with a behemoth like Despaigne and do his best work by countering missed shots by Despaigne and outworking him down the stretch to a potential late finish or a decision victory.

UFC ST. LOUIS: ROBELIS DESPAIGNE VS. WALDO CORTES-ACOSTA FANDUEL ODDS FOR MAY 11

MONEY LINE

• ROBELIS DESPAIGNE: -230
• WALDO CORTES-ACOSTA: +134

PROPS

• ROBELIS DESPAIGNE BY POINTS: +1200
• ROBELIS DESPAIGNE BY SUBMISSION: +2000
• ROBELIS DESPAIGNE BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: -160
• WALDO CORTES-ACOSTA BY POINTS: +950
• WALDO CORTES-ACOSTA BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +310
• WALDO CORTES-ACOSTA BY SUBMISSION: +1200

OVER/UNDER (ROUNDS TOTAL)

• OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (+172)
• UNDER 1.5 ROUNDS (-220)

BEST UFC ST. LOUIS ODDS FOR ROBELIS DESPAIGNE VS. WALDO CORTES-ACOSTA

• Robelis Despaigne is the favorite against Waldo Cortes-Acosta. DraftKings currently has the best odds at (-218)
• Waldo Cortes-Acosta is the underdog. Best odds currently at (+195)
• FanDuel currently has the best odds for the total, which is set at 1.5 Rounds (+172) for the over, and (-220) for the under

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FINAL DESPAIGNE-WALDO-ACOSTA PICK & PREDICTION

This should be an absolute barnburner for however long it lasts. Robelis Despaigne is a freak of nature as he is absolutely massive for the division but he fights like he's a middleweight the way he's able to move in there and throw all of these spinning strikes and long-range attacks and all of that awkward striking will come in handy against a boxer like Waldo Cortes-Acosta. The biggest drawback to Cortes-Acosta's game is that he doesn't check leg kicks at all and he has a hard time against fighters who utilize kicks which is exactly what Despaigne does well. Ultimately, Cortes-Acosta will look to press forward to find his boxing range but Despaigne will land something clean on his chin early putting him away for yet another round-one knockout.

FINAL LEWIS-NASCIMENTO PICK & PREDICTION: ROBELIS DESPAIGNE (-230)

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