A little more than two months after his incredible defeat against Baysangur “Baki” Chamsoudinov, Cédric Doumbè returns to the octagon this Friday, May 17 against the American Jaleel Willis, during Bellator Champions Series 2 at the Accor Arena -Paris Bercy. For his seventh fight in mixed martial arts (MMA), the Franco-Cameroonian must convince.
Published on: 05/16/2024 – 10:48
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We left him on March 7 in a chaotic situation, as the third and final resumption of his fight against “Baki” within the PFL organization. Embarrassed by a splinter in his toe, Cédric Doumbè reported this discomfort to the referee, Marc Goddard, and asked to be able to remove it. Applying the strict regulations, Goddard interpreted Doumbè’s request as a refusal to continue the fight and declared the fighter technical knockout by referee’s ruling.
A first defeat in MMA for the former kick-boxer therefore, and a stain on his kit of the perfect trashtalker. Accustomed to provocations and pre-fight boasting, Cédric Doumbè had put a large part of the public on his side during his previous confrontation against Jordan Zébo. By knocking out his opponent in 9 seconds, the native of Douala had done very well. But the other side of the coin hit him against “Baki”: beaten because of an annoying splinter, Doumbè did not escape mockery.
The welterweight fighter knows that a second consecutive disappointment, for his first fight in Bellator, would be very harmful to him against Jaleel Willis, 32 years old, 16 victories and 5 defeats on the record. The latter replaces Derek Anderson, the initially designated opponent but forced to withdraw after a motorcycle accident. Willis, interviewed by the media La Sueur, promised that he, a “ true veteran “, was going to ” submit direct ” Doumbè, a ” super pretentious ».
𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙄𝙎, 𝙄𝙏’𝙎 𝙁𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆! 🇫🇷
Patchy Mix looks to defend his Bellator Bantamweight Title, as he rematches Magomed Magomedov, whilst Cédric Doumbé seeks a winning start in his Bellator debut against America’s Jaleel Willis.
Limited tickets remain! Secure your place… pic.twitter.com/qSFkezljpn
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 13, 2024
Given favorite by the bookmakers, Cédric Doumbè does not bother with details in his preparation for the fight against Willis. Between two barbs sent to “Baki”, a sign that he is still mulling over the setback of October 7, “The Best” still said that he was going to knock out his opponent. In fact, he even already has a whole plan in mind at Bellator: follow up by knocking out Anthony Pettis, then reserve the same fate for Jason Jackson and strip him of his welterweight crown, and finally defend his new title against Magomed Umalatov , who is still undefeated.
Vast program which begins with a successful performance at the Accor Arena-Bercy in Paris against Jaleel Willis.
