French MMA superstar Cedric Doumbe returned to the cage for the first time since his loss at PFL Homecoming earlier this month, and he hopes to leave no doubts this time.
The kickboxing great is one of the sport's biggest stars outside of the UFC, and his last bout drew a sold-out crowd at Paris' Accor Arena. He returns to the venue under the Bellator banner on May 17th to face Jahlil Willis, and he hopes to make one key change for his return fight.
Doumbe remained undefeated at 5-0 heading into the PFL Europe match against Baisangor “Baki” Chamsuddinov. However, when he requested a pause in the match to remove a small piece of glass from his foot, referee Mark Goddard called off the bout and awarded Chamsuddinov the TKO win.
Cedric Doumbe asks Mark Goddard not to referee his return to mixed martial arts
Doumbe and Chamsuddinov seemed satisfied that the battle had been temporarily halted to allow debris to be removed. But Goddard stuck to the letter of the law, which prohibits players from taking time-outs for any reason, and handed the French icon a surprising first defeat.
Doumbe said of Goddard in a phone call with international media this week:
“I've always liked him. He was the referee for my first MMA fight in Dubai. I liked him, but now I don't like him anymore.
“It's not the first time he makes these kinds of decisions, he makes these kinds of decisions.” [mistakes] Inside the octagon.
“Obviously, I'm going to ask if I have a choice, but I don't have a choice, but I'm going to ask if I can have another referee for my game. If not, that's what it is. It doesn't matter, but uh… I don't like the guy. I don't think I'll ever like the guy again.
“I don't want Jaleel to pray that this time the shrapnel goes into the cage. I hope it goes well. I hope Mark Goddard doesn't become the referee again, so it's a good fight. You can do it, that’s it.”
Cedric Doumbe vows to 'silence Jahlil Willis' as tensions between France and US escalate
The last time he faced Chamsudinov in Paris, Doumbe seemed to step up a lot against his opponent. And by facing Willis, who has about the same number of professional fights as Doumbe's six other opponents, he will move up the ranks again.
The two sides have developed something of a feud in the build-up to the fight, and the overall theme of Bellator seems to be a France vs. America perspective. Willis, 16-5, is a fluent American, but Doumbe isn't uncomfortable behind the microphone.
“That's all I can do,” he told the media in the opening statement of the conference call. “I'm a fighter, I was born to fight, I was born to knock people out. I was born to knock out Jaleel, so I'm going to do that.
“France is waiting for me, the whole French audience, the French people, even the American people are waiting for me to beat him. We will close it and send it back to the United States.”
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