After competing twice under the Professional Fighters League (PFL) banner, Cedric Doumbe has committed to the promotion long-term, inking a multi-fight, multi-year contract extension, according to a press release from the promotion.
Indeed, the Frenchman will return to action on May 17, 2024, but it will not be under the PFL banner. Instead, Doumbe will make his Bellator debut against Derek Anderson in the co-main event of Bellator Paris inside Accor Arena.
“Re-signing Cedric Doumbe to a multi-year contract extension has been one of our highest priorities since he joined the promotion last year,” said PFL CEO, Peter Murray. “Cedric is a large part of our continued growth in France, and now he will compete at Bellator Champions Series Paris on a fight card that can be streamed by fans in the U.S. on Max, as he continues his trajectory through our global leagues.”
Doumbe kicked off his PFL run in spectacular fashion, knocking out Jordan Zebo in just nine seconds at PFL Paris in Sept. 2023 (see it again here). In his sophomore effort just last month, things went a bit sideways during his fight against Baissangour Chamsoudinov. After an entertaining and back-and-forth affair, the action came to a halt in the third and final round after Doumbe complained of a toe injury. Once the dust settled, it was discovered that the Frenchman actually had a piece of glass stuck in his toe.
Read all the odd details here.
As a result, Doumbe suffered the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. The former kickboxer will now look to get back into the win column against an experienced veteran in Anderson, who will be coming off a three-year layoff. Anderson was last seen losing to Michael Page via first round knockout at Bellator 258, suffering a badly shattered nose in the process. Prior to that, “Barbaric” was on a nice three-fight win streak.
Over the course of his career, Anderson has racked several impressive wins, including two victories over former Bellator MMA Lightweight champion, Patricky Pitbull.
Headlining Bellator Paris will be a Bantamweight title fight as division kingpin, Patchy Mix, defending his title against Magomed Magomedov. The two initially met inside the cage at Belaltor 289 in the semifinals of the Bantamweight World Grand Prix, resulting in a second round submission win for Mix.
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