Tag: Cedric Doumbe

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Edwards vs. Muhammad, Aspinall to defend interim belt, UFC & Bellator results, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses the announced matchups for UFC 304, Lerone Murphy’s big win over Edson Barboza, UFC 302, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • UFC 304 is stacking up. The promotion announced several key matchups for its July 27 return to Manchester, England. The announcement included two title fights in [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] for the undisputed welterweight title and [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] for the interim heavyweight belt. Additionally, [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]’s return was revealed to be against veteran [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]. Tons to digest.
  • UFC Fight Night 241 is in the books. In the main event of the card, [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] had a breakout performance, defeating veteran [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] in dominant fashion. Murphy, who’s undefeated in his MMA career, called for a top-10 opponent after the win. Who should Murphy fight next? Where does Barboza go from here? We break it all down.
  • PFL held yet another of their new Bellator Championship Series events, this time in Paris. In the main event of Bellator Champions Series: Paris, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] defended his bantamweight title in a close split decision win over [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag]. The co-main event saw French star [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] make quick work of Jaleel Willis. Two big results for Bellator. So what’s next for both these fighters? We discuss.
  • “Spinning Back Clique” will be off on Memorial Day, but don’t worry, we got you covered with a UFC 302 preview. This week, we’ll take a look at the UFC’s next pay-per-view event, which features a UFC lightweight title bout between [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]. We analyze what’s likely going to be Poirier’s final tine shot, along with the co-main event middleweight bout between [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] and [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag].

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]

Cedric Doumbe def. Jaleel Willis at Bellator Champions Series: Paris: Best photos

Check out these photos from Cedric Doumbe vs. Jaleel Willis, which took place at Accor Arena in Paris, France.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag]’s victory over Jaleel Willis at Bellator Champions Series: Paris, which took place at Accor Arena in Paris, France. (Photos courtesy of PFL/Bellator)

Bellator Champions Series results: Cedric Doumbe makes quick work of Jaleel Willis to set up Anthony Pettis showdown

Cedric Doumbe walked out to the cage with a vacuum to remind everyone that his first MMA defeat was a fluke then went out and proved it.

[autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] walked out to the cage with a vacuum and cleaned the floor to remind everyone that his first MMA defeat was a fluke. Then he went out and proved just that.

Doumbe made quick work of [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] on Friday at Bellator Champions Series: Paris, winning by TKO with a flurry of punches at the 3:33 mark of Round 1. The finish sequence came when Doumbe instigated a furious exchange between the two men and landed a right hook that dropped Willis, causing him to cover up on the canvas. From there, Doumbe swarmed him with a flurry of punches that forced referee Mike Beltran to stop the fight, sending the French fans at Accor Arena into a frenzy.

Afterward, Doumbe (6-1) and Willis (16-6), who had a heated and physical faceoff at the ceremonial weigh-ins, embraced each other with a hug. Doumble said Willis had a good game plan, but he figured it out as the fight wore on.

Doumbe’s victory surely erased memories of a controversial defeat in his previous bout, which was caused by a splinter in the cage. The win also sets up a showdown with former UFC and WEC champion Anthony Pettis, who was sitting cageside and entered the cage for a faceoff.

“I loved it, bro,” Pettis said of Doumbe’s performance. “I wanna fight him here in Paris. Pete (Murray), let’s set it up here.”

Doumbe’s reaction? “This guy must be crazy,” he said.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator Champions Series: Paris results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Bellator Champions Series video: Chaos erupts after Jaleel Willis shoves Cedric Doumbe BEFORE stepping on scale

The Bellator Champions Series: Paris ceremonial weigh-ins were nothing short of chaotic thanks to Cedric Doumbe and Jaleel Willis.

The Bellator Champions Series: Paris ceremonial weigh-ins were nothing short of chaotic thanks to [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag], who were raring to go at each other.

In front of a raucous crowd of French fans, a tense scene played out as Doumbe and Willis had to be restrained by Dan Hardy and security on multiple occasions. It all started when Willis couldn’t even wait for Doumbe to step on the scale before approaching him. The two fighters were heated as they came nose to nose before Willis delivered a hard shove to Doumbe.

From that point on, all hell broke loose. Watch in the video below (via X):

BCS: Paris takes place Friday at Accor Arena and streams live on Max, with Doumbe vs. Willis serving as the co-main event. A bantamweight title fight between Bellator champion Patchy Mix and Magomed Magomedov headlines the card.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=420030791]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Video: Bellator Champions Series: Paris ceremonial weigh-ins, faceoffs live stream

Watch a live stream of the Bellator Champions Series: Paris ceremonial fighter weigh-ins Thursday.

Bellator Champions Series: Paris ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Thursday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at Accor Arena in Paris, which hosts Friday’s event (Max, MMA Junkie).

A bantamweight championship fight headlines the event as [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (19-1) will look to notch his first title defense in a rematch against [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (20-3). In the co-main event, French superstar [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] (5-1) takes on [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (16-5).

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Bellator Champions Series: Paris weigh-in results: Title fight official, one fighter misses weight

Check out the results from the official Bellator Champions Series: Paris fighter weigh-ins in France.

The official weigh-ins for Bellator Champions Series: Paris are in the books, and all but one fighter hit their marks.

In the main event, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (19-1) defends his bantamweight title in a rematch against [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (20-3). Both fighters made championship weight at 135 pounds.

In the co-headliner, French superstar [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] (5-1) takes on [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (16-5) in a 175-pound catchweight bout. Doumbe weighed in at 175.5, whereas Willis came slightly under at 174.6.

[autotag]Thibault Gouti[/autotag] (17-6) was the only fighter who missed weight. Gouti takes on [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] (9-0) at lightweight, but weighed in at 157.7 pounds and will be fined a percentage of his purse. Colgan was on weight at 154.9.

The weigh-ins took place at the Bellator host hotel. Accor Arena in Paris hosts Friday’s event (Max, MMA Junkie).

The full Bellator Champions Series: Paris weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Max, 3 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Patchy Mix (135) vs. Magomed Magomedov (135) – for bantamweight title
  • Cedric Doumbe (175.5) vs. Jaleel Willis (174.6)
  • Gregory Babene (185.7) vs. Costello van Steenis (185.8)
  • Jonas Bilharinho (145.9) vs. Yves Landu (145.4)
  • Archie Colgan (154.9) vs. Thibault Gouti (157.7)*
  • Louis Sutherland (265.9) vs. Slim Trabelsi (239.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Max, noon ET)

  • Mansour Barnaoui (153.7) vs. Yusuke Yachi (155.3)
  • Steven Hill (184.3) vs. Mike Shipman (185.9)
  • Aspen Ladd (145.8) vs. Katerina Shakalova (144.2)
  • Asael Adjoudj (145.9) vs. Bruno Fontes (145.4)

*Gouti missed the lightweight limit and will be fined a percentage of his purse.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Cedric Doumbe gets new opponent for Bellator Champions Series in Paris

Kickboxing star Cedric Doumbe takes on a 4-3 Bellator veteran in the co-main event of the promotion’s upcoming Paris show.

In a week that included both a fight booking announcement and cancellation news in a two-day stretch, [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] is officially back on the schedule on Day 3.

With Derek Anderson out, Doumbe (5-1) now faces former LFA champion [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (16-5) at Bellator Champions Series: Paris, the promotion announced Wednesday. The event takes place May 17 at Accor Arena in Paris.

Willis, 32, has a 4-3 record in Bellator. A proud representative of Memphis, Tenn., Willis worked his way into the promotion in 2020 after 15 fights on the regional scene. After back-to-back wins over Mark Lemminger and Maycon Mendonca, Willis lost consecutive fights by submission to Mukhamed Berkhamov and Sabah Homasi. He bounced back with a win over Kyle Crutchmer before he was knocked out by Ramazan Kuramagomedov in June.

Doumbe, 31, looks to get back in the win column after a controversial loss to Baysangur Chamsoudinov in March. The defeat came when Doumbe allegedly stepped on a splinter in the cage and tried to signal referee Marc Goddard that something was wrong. The sequence lead to confusion and Goddard waved off the fight. The loss was Doumbe’s first and came after a massive nine-second knockout win in his PFL debut against Jordan Zebo in September.

With the change, the Bellator Champion Series: Paris lineup includes:

  • Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov – for bantamweight title
  • Cedric Doumbe vs. Jaleel Willis
  • Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis
  • Jonas Bilharinho vs. Yves Landu
  • Archie Colgan vs. Thibault Gouti

PRELIMINARY CARD:

  • Louis Sutherland vs. Slim Trabelsi
  • Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi
  • Imamshafi Aliev vs. Mike Shipman
  • Aspen Ladd vs. Katerina Shakalova
  • Asael Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fonte

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Bellator’s Cedric Doumbe returns vs. Derek Anderson in Paris, but Nurmagomedov-Shabliy title fight scrapped

Cedric Doumbe will get to electrify his home fans once again.

[autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] will get to electrify his home fans once again.

Doumbe (5-1) meets [autotag]Derek Anderson[/autotag] (17-4-1) in the Bellator Champions Series: Paris co-headliner, which takes place May 17 at Accor Arena in Paris, the promotion announced Monday.

Lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s title defense against [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag], the card’s original main event, has been scrapped due to an injury to Nurmagomedov. The fight is expected to be rebooked in the near future.

Doumbe has signed a multi-year contract extension with PFL. After scoring a 9-second knockout of Jordan Zebo in his promotional debut, the French superstar suffered an odd TKO loss to Baysangur Chamsoudinov in the 2024 PFL Europe 1 headliner in March.

After splitting the first two rounds with Chamsoudinov, Doumbe looked at referee Marc Goddard and pointed to his left toe twice in the span of 10 seconds, signaling that he’s hurt. That prompted Goddard to wave the fight off which baffled a frustrated Doumbe, who just wanted a splint removed from his toe. John McCarthy explained that you cannot call a timeout in the middle of the fight.

Anderson has won three out of his past four. The 34-year-old Bellator veteran hasn’t competed since shattering his nose in a doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Michael Page in May 2021.

With the addition, the Bellator Champions Series: Paris lineup includes:

MAIN CARD:

  • Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov – for bantamweight title
  • Derek Anderson vs. Cedric Doumbe
  • Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis
  • Jonas Bilharinho vs. Yves Landu
  • Archie Colgan vs. Thibault Gouti

PRELIMINARY CARD:

  • Louis Sutherland vs. Slim Trabelsi
  • Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi
  • Imamshafi Aliev vs. Mike Shipman
  • Aspen Ladd vs. Katerina Shakalova
  • Asael Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fontes

Baysangur Chamsoudinov def. Cedric Doumbe at 2023 PFL Europe 1: Best photos

Check out these photos highlighting the 2024 PFL Europe 1 main event that ended with a bizarre controversy.

Check out these photos highlighting the 2024 PFL Europe 1 headliner between [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] and [autotag]Baysangur Chamsoudinov[/autotag], which ended with “Baki” winning on a bizarre controversial injury TKO at Accor Arena in Paris. (Photos courtesy of PFL)

The bizarre 2024 PFL Europe 1 main event controversy, explained: What was THAT?

The way Cedric Doumbe’s first loss happened was completely weird – and dumb.

The conclusion to the 2024 PFL Europe 1 headliner between [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] and [autotag]Baysangur Chamsoudinov[/autotag] will go down as one of the most bizarre in the history of a major promotion’s event, but what exactly happened? 

In the end, the sellout crowd inside Paris’ Accor Arena and fight fans across social media were thoroughly disappointed all because of … a tiny piece of glass? That appears to be the case.

Something afoot

A little more than minute into the third and final round of what was a close fight, Doumbe signaled to referee Marc Goddard as if to suggest his left foot was injured. Goddard could be heard on the broadcast immediately telling Doumbe, “Don’t stop, you can’t stop, you’ve got to keep going.”

So they did.

But for the next 10 seconds or so, Doumbe and Chamsoudinov only stood in front of each other hesitant to attack. This prompted Chamsoudinov to first make a gesture at Goddard and then Doumbe again followed by pointing at his foot. 

At this moment, Goddard waved off the fight and addressed Doumbe as he did so, much to the chagrin of the French fan favorite. Chamsoudinov was awarded a third-round TKO win by injury stoppage. 

Breakdown from ‘Big’ John

On the broadcast, former referee and PFL analyst “Big” John McCarthy broke down what transpired.

“What’s going on is you had Cedric Doumbe saying that he has something wrong with his foot,” McCarthy said. “You can’t call timeout. Now, if something was done by an incident in the cage that was a foul, Marc Goddard would call a time to it and take care of the problem. But when Cedric Doumbe says, ‘Oh, my foot,’ and then (Goddard) tells him, ‘No, fight on,’ and then he again goes back to his problem with his foot, that’s a self-inflicted injury or an injury that was caused by something fair in the fight. You’re trying to call a timeout to gain something in that (situation). Marc Goddard is completely right in this. It is a TKO victory for Baki.”

Doumbe’s side

As it turns out, Doumbe wasn’t exactly injured, but he was dealing with something that out of his control.

“I didn’t want to stop the fight, not at all. I wanted to fight, of course, as everybody saw. But I have a small – because I still have, I don’t want to remove. I don’t want people to say I’m a liar. I have a small (piece) of glass in my foot,” Doumble told PFL color commentator Sean O’Connell during his post-fight interview. “I don’t know (if it was) inside the cage, so it’s hurting me. I just wanted to remove it and keep going. The referee told me, ‘You can’t stop.’ I said, ‘OK.’ I wanted to fight. And then my opponent is looking at me. He’s saying that something is annoying me. He said, ‘Just remove it.’ And then we stopped both together, looking at the referee, and then he stopped the fight. It’s not (Chamsoudinov’s) fault. Of course, that’s not his fault. That’s just the referee’s fault. But, you know, it is what it is. I don’t even know what to say.”

Fair or foul?

What can Doumbe say? The outcome, quite honestly, was completely dumb – but it appears to have been the right call based on the rules in that Goddard doesn’t have the leeway to stop the fight assess if Doumbe’s injury is legitimate.

Should language be included to allow for unforeseen circumstances such as debris in the cage? Tough call.