While he’s already an accomplished combat sports athlete, Cedric
Doumbe is still relatively young when it comes to his mixed
martial arts career.
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The former two-time Glory Kickboxing champion will take a 5-0
record into his showdown with Baissangour
Chamsoudinov at
PFL Europe on March 7. The card takes place at Accor Arena in
Paris, and Doumbe calls his bout “the biggest MMA fight in French
history.”
Though Doumbe is already a big star, fellow Frenchman Benoit St.
Denis recently disputed the notion that the kickboxing ace is
already the face of MMA in the country. According to St. Denis,
UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane
currently deserves that honor.
“Of course I do not agree with that,” Doumbe said during a media
call on Tuesday. “I’m 100% sure I am the face of MMA in France and
everybody knows that. For some people, if you’re not in the UFC you
can’t be the face of MMA. They think UFC is the top guys. That’s
not wrong, but still you don’t have to be the UFC champion to be
the face of MMA in your country. It doesn’t depend only on your
performance. It depends on who you are, what you do, what you can
make.
“Ciryl Gane, can he sell out Accor Arena in one hour or one day? I
don’t think so, but Cedric Doumbe can. I think these type of things
make me be the face of MMA in France.”
Doumbe attracted a lot of attention for his
PFL debut last September, when he carried a mattress with his
opponent’s name on it to the cage and then followed through on that
promise by knocking out Jordan Zebo
in just nine seconds. Doumbe plans on delivering a similar
performance — complete with a special walkout — against
Chamsoudinov. That means he isn’t necessarily interested in
showcasing other aspects of his MMA game.
“I prefer a first-round knockout,” Doumbe said. “You know why?
Because I still want people to get crazy, to dream about what is my
level on the gorund. That’s what makes me surprise my opponent,
because they don’t know my level on the ground. ‘Baki’ doesn’t know
my level on the ground. He doesn’t know how he can train. If I can
stay on my feet, I will do it and knock him out.”
Thus far, Doumbe is only showcasing his skills under the PFL Europe
banner, but he’s more than willing to compete in the league’s
global season format as well. The man with the moniker “The Best”
is open to all possibilities as long as it gets him closer to
championship gold.
“I’m open to any PFL [offer] on the table. I always say, I never
decline a fight,” Doumbe said. “I can fight anyone. The [PFL
welterweight] champion, [Magomed
Magomedkerimov], Sadibou Sy.
I want to fight Anthony
Pettis. For me, it doesn’t matter. But I want to shock the
world. If they put me in the tournament, I will do it, and I will
win the tournament. If they give me super fights, I will do it
until I get the belt.”
Doumbe initially signed with the UFC in 2022 with plans on making
his debut at the promotion’s Paris event that September. However,
Doumbe wasn’t cleared by the French Athletic Commission, and both
sides eventually moved on. Now, the 31-year-old former Glory
champion doesn’t believe a future move to the UFC aligns with his
own timeline for success in the MMA.
“If you’re smart, a young fighter who is 20, 21, he can make some
choices. But those choices will not be the same as [when your are]
31,” he said. “I’m not at the end of my career, I’m at the top of
my career. [At] 31, your body feels good. I don’t want to waste my
time. I want to capitalize. For me, going to UFC is losing two
yeers. I don’t want to do it. I don’t have to prove anymore.”
Not only is the UFC not a goal, but Doumbe also admits that he
isn’t especially excited about PFL’s recent acquistion of Bellator
MMA.
“To be honest, I don’t even know the name of the Bellator
champion,” he said. “The roster of Bellator, I have no clue of who
I want to fight. I think they know me. They want to fight me, but I
don’t know them.”
One place where Doumbe does want to be more well-known is in the
United States. If he is already the face of French MMA as he says,
Doumbe knows he needs to branch out to expand his fan base and
build his name.
“The next step is going to be the U.S. market,” Doumbe said. “I
have to do it because if I want to shock the world, I have to do
it.”