Cedric Doumbe made his Bellator MMA debut earlier today (May 17, 2024)in the co-main event of Bellator Paris in Paris, France taking on late replacement, Jaleel Willis, inside Accor Arena. And “The Best” proved why he is one of the fastest-rising stars in the game today.
From the jump, both men came out aggressive, taking the center of the cage and trading blows. The two men were at each others throats all week leading up to the fight, and it showed that there was no love lost between them.
Doumbe dropped Willis early on and he never really let up the entire time. For his part, Willis didn’t back down…until he was tagged with an overhand right. Doumbe pounced and seemed to have landed an illegal knee that went unnoticed. Doumbe piled on the pressure and eventually forced the referee to put an end to the fight.
It was an exciting one-round fight for as long as it lasted, and Doumbe got back on track after suffering a bizarre defeat at the hands of Baissangour Chamsoudinov at PFL Europe 1 a few months ago.
Afterward, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, stepped into the cage to challenge the Frenchman, to which he obliged. The two could very well throw down before the end of the year in either the Bellator or PFL banner.
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