Cedric Doumbu still doesn't understand what happened last Thursday.
Doumbe faced off against Baisangor Chamsuddinov, also known as “Baki”, in the main event of PFL Europe 1. After competing in the first two rounds, referee Mark Goddard called a stop to the fight in the third round. Doumbae's feet. Doumbe immediately protested the cancellation, but Goddard didn't listen and declared a TKO victory for Baki due to Doumbe's injury.
Talk to Ariel Helwani MMA Hour, Doumbe described what happened that night from his perspective and questioned Goddard's handling of the situation.
“As you can see from the video, I tried to delete it at first.” [the splinter] I walk on my own with my other leg,” Doumbe said. “It didn't go well, so I raised my hand and talked to the referee and said, 'There's something under my foot,' because I didn't know how to say the word debris.” He said, “Don't stop. , don't stop.'' continue. Fight. 'That's when I thought, “Okay, he doesn't want to understand.'' He doesn't even want to listen. So I continued. I returned to my fighting stance.
“Then I looked into Baki's eyes and thought, okay, I can take it out myself, but I don't want him to kick me in the head. But I know he's not that type of person. He noticed something was wrong with my leg and said, “What's wrong?” I said in French, “There are thorns under my feet.” It's a nuisance.'' “Just take it off!'' Then he turned to the referee and said something like, “Let him take that thing off.'' Then I also stopped and looked at the referee and he stopped the match.
“I was shocked. 'Oh my god? What the hell is going on?' And the referee said, 'We can't stop the fight.' I said, “Yes, I know, but I didn't stop fighting!” Then at the end of the day, we're cool. It was cool and relaxing. I said, “Mark, can I talk to you?” …You said I can't stop fighting. of course. That's the rule. I kept going and kept fighting. But even the second time I didn't stop fighting. Baki spoke to you and you stopped me. ' Then he said, 'No!' You can't stop the fight! He didn't want to listen to me. It was very sad. Because we trained for three months and the team and I did a lot of marketing for that game, so the game was sold out, everyone was proud, everyone was waiting for that game, and Mark Goddard just stole the game. I really don't understand. ”
On the PFL broadcast, rules expert “Big” John McCarthy declared that Goddard handled the situation correctly according to the letter of the law, but even in hindsight, Doumbu said extenuating circumstances did not reflect Goddard's different reaction. I believe I should have deserved it.
“Of course, being a referee is very difficult. It's not an easy job,” Doumbe said. “Being a referee, being a judge is very, very complicated. I know that. But hear me out. I fought with two broken ribs. …I'm not a little girl. I can fight, I'm a man. But splinters are what's outside the fight.
“If I was fighting Baki and Baki broke my arm, I'd be prepared for that, so I'd be okay. But something is wrong in the cage… it's not normal. After I stop the fight and remove the object, I'll be fine. You have to keep fighting. Really, it's a mistake. To be a man you have to realize that you made a mistake. Of course it's not easy to be a referee .I can't blame you, but you have to listen and say, “Okay, I made a mistake.” The fight shouldn't have stopped like that. This is a no contest, not a TKO. ” Then we go back and fight again. ”
Doumbe admitted he plans to appeal the loss, the first of his MMA career. But whether it's successful or not, the former Glory Kickboxing 2-division world champion wants to get back at it as soon as possible to truly decide who is the better man between himself and 'Baki'. It states that there must be.
“Of course I'm interested, because when I win a match, I'm a man,” Doumbe said. “If I were in that situation, Baki's situation, if I said, 'Cedric Doumbe won the match because of debris,' I would say, 'No, don't raise your hand.' I didn't beat him. I want a rematch. I know I can beat him, so I want to fight him. I want to beat him for real, not like this.' That's not fair. I'm a man, I'm a warrior, so I'm going to fight him fair and square. I want to win.
“So of course he wants a rematch. Of course he has to accept a rematch, because I think he's a man and a fighter too. So we give the fans what they want. We have to find out who is the best between him and me. I showed that I am the best and if you look at the match, I won the fight. So if he wants to be the guy who beat the legendary Cedric Doumb, like he said, he's got to have a rematch and really beat me.”
