Kickboxing icon Cedric Doumbe will make his return to Paris this Friday night, and fireworks are expected from the first bell.
Doumbe had a raucous homecoming at PFL’s Accor Arena show this March, but was handed his first loss in controversial fashion after a splinter found its way into his foot causing a stoppage. But he gets a chance at redemption in the same venue for his Bellator debut this week against Jaleel Willis.
The bout has been built with an heated USA vs France feud over the past few weeks as the slick-talking Willis was drafted in on late notice to replace Derek Anderson. And former PFL champion turned commentator Sean O’Connell believes things are about to take off in the French capital.
Cedric Doumbe brings unique star power to Bellator Paris
Doumbe is a former kickboxing star who was considered one of the pound-for-pound best in the world before making the move to the cage. And he rose to even bigger national prominence when he appeared on reality TV show The Circle, making him a household name.
O’Connell was on the ground for his last bout with Baysangur ‘Baki’ Chamsoudinov, and believes any night that features the Frenchman becomes the biggest on offer in European MMA. “It’s a testament to what he’s been able to build,” the commentator explained.
“In terms of following and audience through his kickboxing career, he brought that with him. It wasn’t MMA stardom in an organic way necessarily but he has an incredible social media presence and for me and everyone in the Bellator and PFL side he’s been a lot of fun.
“We haven’t had a ton of those moments where it’s a huge arena and it is truly sold out and everyone’s on their feet. People were going crazy and there was the controversy and all that stuff so it’s just fun to be part of something so big when Cedric is involved.”
Cedric Doumbe compared to Conor McGregor over massive crowd attraction
The kickboxing great is one of the most established stars in Europe, and drew one of the biggest gates in French MMA history last time out. And while last time he faced a popular up-and-comer in ‘Baki’, he is expected to be universally supported this time out against the brash American Willis.
And O’Connell believes that his commentary partner Dan Hardy’s likening of Doumbe’s walkout to that of Conor McGregor’s famous 2014 homecoming at UFC Dublin is a fair one. “You’ve got this local who’s also a big rising international star but is very connected still with home base and that audience,” he said.
“We’ve had that twice now with Cedric Doumbe in the PFL and now he’s making his Bellator debut. This is truly unique in my career and in my experience.”
Cedric Doumbe praised for mastering the microphone in multiple languages as Bellator debut looms
A key factor in connecting with audiences for any potential combat star is an ability to engage during promos and interviews. Doumbe has gone a step beyond in that regard, learning English in order to bring his trash-talking across many different markets outside of his native France.
“I’m so impressed by his ability to be humorous or clever in a second or third language. It’s like we see from Cedric or Francis Ngannou or a little bit with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dry sense of humour in English and that is so impressive.
“You have to master the nuances of a new language and then you’re trying to do that and apply it to your sense of humour and sometimes insults and stuff like that. Cedric is a brilliant man at least verbally for his ability to transition his trash talk from French to English.
“He’ll grab the mic and he’s answering the French question and then speaking in English. It’s part of why he’s become such a big star and now he’s on his way to becoming an even bigger star.”