Former GLORY welterweight champion Cédric Doumbé is set to face undefeated prospect Baissangour Chamsoudinov on March 7 in his second PFL appearance, following a nine-second knockout debut in September, and is confident of a first-round knockout.
Cédric Doumbé’s itching for his second PFL show. He’s the ex-GLORY welterweight champ who lived up to the hype. Remember his debut in September? That nine-second knockout of Jordan Zebo? Yeah, that one. It set his French fans on fire at PFL Europe 3.
Now, he’s gearing up to face Baissangour Chamsoudinov, an undefeated prospect. The showdown’s set for March 7, headlining another PFL Europe card in Paris. Doumbé’s got big plans for this one.
“He’s got a decent fan base in France,” Doumbé said on The MMA Hour. People are talking. A lot. They’re saying he’s got a shot because he looks like a wrestler. He’s from Chechnya, looks the part, and no one’s managed to take me down. They think he’s the guy. Just like they thought Jordan was the guy. But I’ll show them. First-round knockout. Then they’ll find another ‘guy.’ Same stuff, different day.
Doumbé’s 31. He’s considered one of the top welterweight prospects in MMA. His PFL debut? It was the talk of the town in 2023. Known for his dramatic flair, Doumbé brought a mattress for his opponent. Led the crowd and French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe in a roaring chant. Then put Zebo to sleep in seconds with a killer left hand.
It was a show-stopper. Over 7,000 fans at the Zénith Paris saw it. Doumbé’s already upping the game for his next fight. He says it sold out almost 20,000 seats at the Accor Arena in 20 minutes. For this decorated kickboxer, it’s proof he made the right call signing with PFL. He was supposed to join UFC in 2022, but a medical issue nixed his octagon debut. He was released from his contract.
Fast forward less than two years, and he’s got no regrets. “That makes me smile because they messed up,” Doumbé said of the UFC. “They messed up. But I didn’t lose anything. They lost. So it is what it is, you know? Everything happens for a reason.
“I’m just doing my thing. I know I would do the same — maybe even better, maybe less — in UFC, but I’m just doing my thing. Some people say that, ‘You will never have done that [walkout] with the mattress in UFC, they will never let you do this,’ so I’m better here.”
Doumbé’s no newbie. He’s got over 80 kickboxing fights under his belt. He’s still at his peak, but he’s not planning to fight into his late thirties. He’s focusing on his partnership with PFL and doesn’t think he’ll go back to UFC.
“We never know for tomorrow, but I think 90 percent no,” Doumbé said. “Ninety percent no, because I’m not 20, I’m not 21. I’m not that younger fighter. So I think I’m more close to the end than the beginning, so I think I will not open the UFC door again. But we never know.”
Doumbé’s got big plans post-March 7. If he wins, he’s eyeing former UFC champ Anthony Pettis. He’s confident he could sell out France’s Parc des Princes, home to soccer club Paris Saint-Germain.
But first, he’s got to beat Chamsoudinov. The 22-year-old Chechen’s a perfect 8-0 in his young MMA career. He knocked out UFC veteran Efrain Escudero in the second round in his last fight.
“He’s better than Jordan,” Doumbé said. “He’s got very good judo. He’s a judoka. But even his wrestling doesn’t impress me. I think even on the ground, the grappling, I’m better than him. But nobody knows [because] you haven’t seen it yet.
“A lot of his fans, they think he’s the guy. But even Jordan, everybody thought that would be the guy who’s going to expose me, but it’s always the same.”