Karate Combat 58: New Champions, Major Upset, and Six Brutal Finishes
Big hits, a big delay, and a big new champion — Karate Combat 58 won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
The night descended into chaos before a single strike was thrown, as the advertised 7 p.m. ET start time was pushed to 9, then 11, and the event didn’t actually begin until 12:30 a.m. With no official explanation from the promotion, the online chatter about the Pit arriving late for assembly feels more and more believable.
When the action finally began, the long-awaited heavyweight title fight played out just as the oddsmakers expected — a coronation. Robelis Despaigne tore the belt away from “Smilen” Sam Alvey with crushing violence, ending Alvey’s unexpected championship run.
Alvey survived early and used distance well in round one, but the Olympic bronze medalist found his range in the second. A straight right hand produced the first knockdown, followed by heavy ground shots that had Alvey badly shaken. Somehow the fight continued, but Despaigne made sure there was no controversy. A right high kick blasted straight through Alvey’s guard like a battering ram, sealing a thunderous knockout and ushering in a new heavyweight king.
Morocco’s 23-year-old Oussama Assli claimed the vacant Welterweight title with a composed and sharp unanimous decision win over Australia’s James Honey.
The card’s biggest upset came when Vanilto Antunes stunned Lorenz Larkin with a short left hook, then floored him moments later with a long left hook that wrapped around the target and shut the lights off.
Chris Barnett delivered one of the wildest finishes of the night, using an outside trip to launch Jonathan Miller into the Pit wall for a first-round knockout. Oscar Remihana needed only 33 seconds to fold Brandon Jenkins with a left high kick and a single right hand on the ground. Claudio Ribeiro detonated an overhand right in round two that spun Jayden Eynaud into a full face-plant. And Monte Deon Ogbonna kicked off the card’s six knockouts by stunning Eeko Jun with a straight right and mauling him with left hooks against the Pit wall.
KC 58 delivered the chaos — even if we had to wait half the night for it.
KC 58 Main Card
- Heavyweight Title: (New Champion) Robelis Despaigne def. Sam Alvey by KO (Right High Kick) R2
- Vacant Welterweight Title: Oussama Assli def. James Honey by Unanimous Decision
- 175 lb. Catchweight: Vanilto Antunes def. Lorenz Larkin by KO (Left Hooks) R1
- Heavyweight: Chris Barnett def. Johnathan Miller by KO (Slam from an Outside trip) R1
- 175 lb. Catchweight: Namo Fazil def. Guilherme Bastos by Unanimous Decision in Extra round
Prelims
- Welterweight: Oscar Remihana def. Brandon Jenkins by KO (Left High Kick & Ground Strikes) R1
- 210 lb. Catchweight: Claudio Riberio def. Jayden Eynaud by KO (Overhand Right) R2
- Light Heavyweight: Marcus Perez def. Wallace Lopes by Unanimous Decision in Extra Round
- Light Heavyweight: Monte Deon Ogbonna def. Eeko Jun by TKO (Straight Right and Left Hooks) R3
- Women’s Flyweight: Erica Santos def. Debora Evora by Unanimous Decision
- 195 lb. Catchweight: Sergey Ponomarev vs. Bzombie by Unanimous Decision
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