The pride of Paris, France Cedric Doumbe is returning to the Accor Arena to add another knockout to his record. In a call with members of the media, “Le Meilleur” Doumbe did not mince words when it came to his May 17 opponent Jaleel Willis. Additionally, he also complained about officiant Marc Goddard.
Cedric Doumbe on Bellator Paris
The 31-year-old Doumbe was a kickboxing world champion in the GLORY welterweight division. He was known for dynamite knockout power in his hands. All four of his title victories were earned by way of knockout.
Since transitioning to MMA in 2021, the French-born athlete went on a perfect 5-0 unbeaten streak, winning all matches by way of knockout. Fans of MMA took notice when he earned a knockout win in just nine seconds. Doumbe was undefeated until an odd accident stopped him in his last match. He complained about a splinter in his foot, the referee then called off the match and declared it a TKO loss for Doumbe.
Now, “Le Meilleur” is looking to put that fight behind him and is putting targets on his next opponent; “The Realest” Jaleel Willis. The US-born Willis is an experienced opponent with over twenty professional bouts to his name. On May 17, Doumbe will have the hometown crowd on his side and will be looking for another knockout.
On a recent media call, Cedric Doumbe explained:
“I can’t wait. First of all, thank you guys for inviting me there. And I can’t wait. It’s all I can do. I’m a fighter. I was born to fight, I was born to knock people out, I was born to knock Jaleel Willis out, so I will do it. France is waiting for me, all the French proud, all the French people, even American people, they are waiting for me to knock him out. I will do what I do best, rip his head off, shut his mouth, and send him back to U.S.”
“It doesn’t matter who they put in front of me. I trained for the war. I trained to beat the opponent. So it doesn’t matter who is the guy in front of me. So even the one day before the fight, they can change, they can switch opponents. I don’t care.”
“I saw that the Jaleel Willis. He’s confident. That’s very good because all my opponents, they are all confident before they hit the first jab. And, then, he can visit Paris before the fight ’cause after the fight he will be in the hospital of Paris”
“I know, you know, people like to watch me fight. They like to come to the event because they like knockouts, they like blood, they like war, we are gladiators, so they come for that.”
On referee Marc Goddard, Doumbe added:
“A splinter get in the cage that time. I hope it’s not gonna be Mark Goddard again as a referee. No splinters. He was the referee in my first MMA fight in Dubai. I like him, but now I don’t like him anymore. This is not the first time he does this type of decision, you know.”