The Professional Fighters League is sending a
popular fighter home for his promotional debut.

Via the promotion on Thursday, Cedric
Doumbe (4-0) will serve in the main attraction of
PFL Europe Playoffs, where he will compete in a non-tournament
welterweight contest against a currently unnamed foe. Doumbe was
initially slated to face Jarrah
Al-Silawi as a late entrant into the 2023 Regular Season, but
an injury ejected him from that June pairing and he was replaced by
Solomon
Renfro. The former kickboxerโ€™s new PFL at this Sept. 30 event
will take place in his home country of France, at Zenith Paris la
Villette in Paris.

In what some may consider to be a late start, the Cameroon-born
Doumbe began his pro MMA career back in 2021 at the age of 29. That
first bout against Arbi Emiev โ€“
a first-round knockout for the Frenchman โ€“ marked the official
conclusion of his storied kickboxing career. In that sport, Doumbe,
known as โ€œLe Meilleurโ€ or โ€œThe Best,โ€ amassed a record of 75-7-1
with 45 victories by knockout. Along the way, he claimed the Glory
kickboxing welterweight strap back in 2016 from Nieky Holzken, and
he won it a second time over Harut Grigorian in 2019. As an MMA
fighter, Doumbe has recorded four knockouts within two rounds thus
far.

PFLโ€™s Head of Fighter Operations, Dan Hardy,
released a statement expressing excitement for Doumbeโ€™s rescheduled
company debut, writing, โ€œThere are very few martial artists that
have reached the level of skill and accomplishment that Cedric
Doumbe has attained during his incredible kickboxing career.
Now as an undefeated MMA fighter, Doumbe is at the beginning of
what could be a very exciting career inside the Smartcage. It will
be amazing to have him make his PFL debut as a headliner for our
European playoff event in Paris, and an opportunity for the fans to
see Cedric take on the next challenge of his illustrious combat
sports career.โ€

The PFL Europe Playoffs event on Sept. 30 will feature the
semifinals of four different divisions for the separate regional
tourneys. The PFL has staged light heavyweight, lightweight,
bantamweight and womenโ€™s flyweight brackets, and the victors of
each will secure a $100,000 check and a potential place in the 2024
season. It is unclear at this time whether PFL will be officially
opening a female 125-pound category next year, as it has only
maintained lightweight and featherweight to date. The second half
of this Europe-based season will be held on July 8 in Germany.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger