Tag: Cedric Doumbe

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.

Video: Watch 2024 PFL Europe 1 main card live stream

Watch the main card of 2024 PFL Europe 1, which features Cedric Doumbe vs. Baissangour Chamsoudinov at Accor Arena in Paris.

2024 PFL Europe 1 takes place Thursday and you can watch a live stream of the event right here on MMA Junkie.

The event taking place at Accor Arena in Paris, France features a welterweight showdown between undefeated welterweights [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] and [autotag]Baysangur Chamsoudinov[/autotag].

The self-proclaimed face of MMA in France, Doumbe (5-0) will aim to showcase his high-level striking skills under the PFL Europe banner for the second time. His first appearance last September was a lightning-fast nine-second finish of Jordan Zebo. Chamsoudinov (7-0), who will be making his PFL Europe debut, has slightly more experience in MMA competition and is also capable of finishing fights early.

Also in action in the co-feature will be France’s “Lazy King” [autotag]Abdoul Abdouraguimov[/autotag] (17-1), who meets England’s Jack Grant (19-7).

Watch the full main card in the video above (U.S.-based viewers only).

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The full lineup 2024 PFL Europe 1 includes:

MAIN CARD (MMA Junkie, 2:30 p.m. ET)

  • Cedric Doumbe vs. Baissangour Chamsoudinov
  • Abdoul Abdouraguimov vs. Jack Grant
  • Ibrahim Mane vs. Chequina Noso Pedro
  • Ignacio Capella vs. Yazid Chouchane
  • Jakub Kaszuba vs. Kane Mousah
  • Daniele Miceli vs. Yassin Najid
  • Mickael Groguhe vs. Islem Masraf

PRELIMINARY CARD (DAZN, 11 a.m. ET)

  • Patrick Habirora vs. Claudio Pacella
  • Marian Dimitrov vs. Erhan Kartal
  • Anatolij Baal vs. Connor Hughes
  • Alex Chizov vs. Daniele Scatizzi
  • Tomasz Ɓangowski vs. Florim Zendeli
  • Andreeas Binder vs. Mark Ewen
  • Kevin Del vs. Younes Najid

Photos: 2024 PFL Europe 1 weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs

Check out these photos from the 2024 PFL Europe 1 weigh-ins in Paris.

Check out these photos from the 2024 PFL Europe 1 weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs ahead of the event taking place at Accor Arena in Paris, France, which features a welterweight bout between [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] and Baysangur Chamsoudinov.  (Photos courtesy of PFL)

 

PFL’s Cedric Doumbe: ‘I’m the face of MMA in France, and everybody knows that’

Bold words from Cedric Doumbe ahead of his second promotional appearance at 2024 PFL Europe 1.

[autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag]’s confidence is riding high ahead of his sixth professional MMA fight.

Despite just having one fight under his belt in PFL, the decorated kickboxer already sees himself as the face of MMA in France – even over more tenured names.

Doumbe(5-0), who fights Baissangour Chamsoudinov in the main event of 2024 PFL Europe 1 on March 7 in Paris, doesn’t think he needs to be a UFC fighter to be the main representative of the country. He believes his name and interest in the fan base trumps that of UFC contender Cyril Gane.

“I think, and I’m 100 percent sure, I am the face of MMA in France, and everybody knows that,” Doumbe said during a Tuesday media call. “Of course, it’s hard to say because for some people, if you’re not in the UFC, you can’t be the face of MMA because they think that UFC is where the top guys are at. That’s not wrong, but still, you don’t have to be UFC champion to be the face of MMA in your country.

“It doesn’t depend on your performance. It depends on who you are, what you do, can you sell out an Accor Arena in 20 minutes? I don’t think so. You can’t be the face of (French) MMA. Cyril Gane, he sold out the Accor Arena in one hour or one day? I don’t think he can. I think these types of things make me the face of MMA in France.”

Doumbe, 31, has big ambitions for his MMA career, despite transitioning at an age many would consider late. The Frenchman wants to be champion of the PFL, proving that he’s not only a big representative of France, but one of the best fighters today.

“I want to be champion,” Doumbe said. “I want to knock everyone out and show that I am the best and I can beat everybody also in MMA. I just want to show people that I’m special, and there’s no one like Cedric Doumbe. I want to show it and make history.”

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PFL star Cedric Doumbe says UFC ‘f*cked up’ by releasing him before debut, doubts he’d sign again

Cedric Doumbe has all but closed the door on signing with the UFC in the future.

[autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] has all but closed the door on signing with the UFC in the future.

Doumbe (5-0) was expected to make his UFC debut in September 2022 against Darian Weeks in Paris, but the French commission wouldn’t sanction the fight because of the level of experience difference between the two. Doumbe later revealed that a medical issue was the primary reason he was pulled from the bout, and he was ultimately released from his contract before ever stepping foot in the octagon.

The two-time Glory welterweight champ then signed with PFL, putting on one of the most memorable promotional debuts when he knocked out Jordan Zebo in just nine seconds this past September. From his walkout to luring soccer stars such as Kylian Mbappe to attend, Doumbe sent the Paris crowd into a frenzy.

He believes the UFC dropped the ball.

“That makes me smile because they f*cked up,” Doumbe said on “The MMA Hour.” “They f*cked up, but I didn’t lose anything. They lost. So it is what it is, you know? Everything happens for a reason.

“I’m just doing my thing. I know I would do the same, maybe even better, maybe less in UFC, but I’m just doing my thing. Some people say that, ‘You will never have done that (walkout) with the mattress in UFC. They will never let you do this.’ So I’m better here (in PFL).”

Doumbe meets fellow undefeated French welterweight Baissangour Chamsoudinov (8-0) in the PFL Europe 1 main event March 7 at Accor Arena in Paris.

According to Doumbe, Accor Arena sold out 20,000 seats in just 20 minutes after his fight was announced. As for a future in the UFC, Doumbe thinks it’s highly unlikely at this point in his career.

“We never know for tomorrow, but I think 90 percent no,” Doumbe said. “Ninety percent no, because I’m not 20, I’m not 21. I’m not that younger fighter. So I think I’m more close to the end than the beginning, so I think I will not open the UFC door again. But we never know.”

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.

Cedric Doumbe to headline PFL Europe 1 against fellow unbeaten Baissangour Chamsoudinov

What will Cedric Doumbe have in store for his second PFL appearance? Fans will soon find out.

What will [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] have in store for his second PFL appearance? Fans will soon find out.

Coming off an electrifying win in his promotional debut, Doumbe is set to return March 7 at PFL Europe 1, where he’ll take on fellow undefeated French welterweight [autotag]Baissangour Chamsoudinov[/autotag] in the night’s main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

A PFL official confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Thursday.

Doumbe (5-0), a former Glory Kickboxing champion, had a scintillating PFL debut on Sept. 30 when he knocked out Jordan Zebo in just nine seconds. Following a theatrical walkout from Doumbe, the fight was over in an instant once he caught a high kick and hammered Zebo with a left hand and quick follow-up shots on the mat that led to the finish.

Doumbe figures to face a stern test in Chamsoudinov (8-0), who is coming over from Ares FC where he went 4-0. Chamsoudinov has three finishes in his career, including most recently against former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Efrain Escudero by second-round knockout with punches.

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