Francis Ngannou could be competing on the same night as his next MMA opponent.
Jake Paul defended Ngannou’s opponent Philipe Lins after many questioned why this is the matchup that was made for May 16.
While there has been plenty of back and forth about Paul and Ngannou fighting down the line, there is more than one heavyweight matchup taking place on the first MMA event on Netflix.
UFC veteran Sam Alvey believes that his former foe, Robelis Despaigne, is on this card in order to set up what would be an unmissable clash with ‘The Predator’.
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Sam Alvey believes MVP kept Francis Ngannou and Robelis Despaigne apart to set up their matchup
While heavyweights like Phil De Fries previously pushed to fight Francis Ngannou, Robelis Despaigne is another name that could have been in the mix for May 16.
The towering Cuban is set to face Junior dos Santos on the same card in a matchup where he will be heavily favored to score a big knockout.
Sam Alvey, who was stopped by Despaigne in December, believes that Most Valuable Promotions purposefully kept them apart in order to set up a clash between them in the near future.
“Robelis is gonna smoke JDS [dos Santos], he is. I love JDS, he was great, but that was years ago. Now he’s good, Robelis is still great,” Alvey told Bloody Elbow. “They want Robelis vs Ngannou. That’s what they want. Ngannou’s gonna win, Robelis is gonna win, then they’re gonna fight each other. That’s what’s going to happen, you can bet on it right now. Blame me if you lose.”
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Alvey added that while he believes the May 16 event on Netflix is a whole card of “freak show fights” where every outcome is predictable, he loves what the promotion has put together.
The 39-year-old knows a thing or two about mismatches, as he is set to take on bodybuilder Alexander “The Freak” on May 8 in an exhibition bout stemming from a social media feud between them.
Alvey doesn’t buy into Most Valuable Promotions’ event being compared to what the UFC has lined up for the White House in June but that won’t impact his enjoyment of either.
“It’s two different cards… Ronda [Rousey] vs Gina [Carano] is the perfect main event for that. I’m more interested in that fight now…
2026-05-06 01:30:00
