Cédric Doumbé is back, and his first fight in more than two years will be a boxing match with Jake Paul. The French striker faces Paul in an eight-round cruiserweight bout on Thursday, Dec. 24 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, Most Valuable Promotions announced Monday.
Ariel Helwani reported that it will be Doumbé’s first fight since an MMA win in May 2024, adding that he had quietly stepped away from competition to focus on family and other personal matters.
From the PFL cage to the boxing ring
Doumbé went 6-1 in MMA with all six wins by knockout. His PFL Europe debut in Paris in September 2023 lasted nine seconds against Jordan Zebo, with Kylian Mbappé and several Paris Saint-Germain teammates in the crowd, per MVP. His lone loss came against Baysangur Chamsoudinov in a controversial finish he has openly wanted to avenge in a rematch.
Before MMA, he was a two-time GLORY welterweight kickboxing champion with a 75-7-1 record and 45 knockouts, according to MVP. In boxing he is 1-0, and Helwani noted that bout came in April 2015.
The callout is not new. Doumbé pushed for a mixed-rules fight with Paul from the PFL Europe stage in Lyon in December 2024, and Dan Hardy backed him as Paul’s first MMA opponent at the time. What he’s getting instead is straight boxing.
Paul and Doumbé trade shots
Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) hasn’t fought since Anthony Joshua broke his jaw and stopped him in the sixth round in December 2025. MVP had already locked in the Dubai date last week before naming the opponent.
Doumbé’s message, via MVP’s announcement:
Jake Paul calls himself the Problem Child, but he’s never faced a problem like me. He has no idea what a Frenchman is capable of, and on Thursday, December 24 in Dubai, I’m going to eat ‘El Poulet’ for dinner.
Paul fired back by pointing at the rules.
This isn’t kickboxing mon ami. This is BOXING. Just like Usyk feasted on Rico Verhoeven, I am going to eat you for dinner in Dubai on Christmas Eve and have a Coca-Cola at the arena to celebrate.
The fight puts one of the PFL’s most recognizable international names under the MVP banner, which MVP framed as part of its expansion following its merger with the PFL.
