Cédric Doumbé has his sights set strictly on the Professional Fighters League and doubts that he’ll ever consider signing with the UFC again.
The former GLORY kickboxing welterweight title holder made his PFL debut back in September of last year. In a highlight reel fashion, he knocked out Jordan Zebo in just nine seconds at PFL Europe 3. In his second fight inside PFL’s smart cage, Doumbé will square off against Baissangour Chamsoudinov. The bout will serve as the main event of the upcoming PFL Europe fight card in Paris on march 7.
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During his recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Cédric Doumbé predicted another first-round knockout:
“People, they’re talking a lot of s*** about having him against me, because he looks like a wrestler. He’s from Chechnya, he looks like a wrestler, and nobody could take me down. And they think he is the guy, as they thought Jordan was the guy. So now they think he’s the guy, but I will show the same, first-round knockout, and they will find another guy who is supposed to be the guy, that guy. And it’s the same s***, different day… I think I will knock him out in the first round because, like Jordan, he hasn’t much experience. His chin is not tough enough to take a punch.”
Doumbé may seem arrogant with that statement, but his MMA record of 5 – 0 speaks for itself. All five wins came by either KO or TKO within the first two rounds. His dynamic fighting style backed by his success in the kickboxing ring gathered him a strong fanbase in his native France. It was showcased by a 7,000 fans reaction to his walkout at the Zénith Paris. The French fighter came out to the cage with a mattress, accompanied by soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Now his next fight will take place at Accor Arena with a 20,000-seat capacity. A venue was sold out in 20 minutes after a single match-up announcement, that being Doumbé vs. Chamsoudinov. In Doumbé’s words, his name was enough to achieve this. Now, considering this one could ask why he’s not fighting for the world’s leading MMA promotion, UFC.
The truth is that the French fighter was signed by the UFC back in 2022. He was scheduled to debut at UFC Fight Night 209 on September 3 of that year. However, his promotional debut was canceled due to medical issues followed by his release by the promotion. Interestingly enough, he later received another offer from UFC only to sign a two-year deal with PFL in May 2023.
Nowadays Cédric Doumbé feels that he’s doing better fighting outside of UFC umbrella:
“That makes me smile because they f***** up. They f***** 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 with the mattress in UFC, they will never let you do this,’ so I’m better here.”
Next, the French said that he’s currently focused on his PFL tenure, as he’s closer to the end of his career and that’s why he’s not willing to open doors to UFC:
“We never know for tomorrow, but I think 90 percent no. “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.”
As for now, he’s got some business to attend to, namely Baissangour Chamsoudinov. “Baki” also sports an unblemished record of 8-0 and has a Judo background. Despite this and Chamsoudinov’s wrestling prowess, Doumbé considers himself to be a better grappler. The problem is, that fans haven’t had the opportunity to witness his ground game. The French fighter also wants to fight Anthony Pettis next.
