Cedric Doumbe’s confidence is riding high ahead of his sixth professional MMA fight.
Despite just having one fight under his belt in PFL, the decorated kickboxer already sees himself as the face of MMA in France – even over more tenured names.
Doumbe(5-0), who fights Baissangour Chamsoudinov in the main event of 2024 PFL Europe 1 on March 7 in Paris, doesn’t think he needs to be a UFC fighter to be the main representative of the country. He believes his name and interest in the fan base trumps that of UFC contender Cyril Gane.
“I think, and I’m 100 percent sure, I am the face of MMA in France, and everybody knows that,” Doumbe said during a Tuesday media call. “Of course, it’s hard to say because for some people, if you’re not in the UFC, you can’t be the face of MMA because they think that UFC is where the top guys are at. That’s not wrong, but still, you don’t have to be UFC champion to be the face of MMA in your country.
“It doesn’t depend on your performance. It depends on who you are, what you do, can you sell out an Accor Arena in 20 minutes? I don’t think so. You can’t be the face of (French) MMA. Cyril Gane, he sold out the Accor Arena in one hour or one day? I don’t think he can. I think these types of things make me the face of MMA in France.”
Doumbe, 31, has big ambitions for his MMA career, despite transitioning at an age many would consider late. The Frenchman wants to be champion of the PFL, proving that he’s not only a big representative of France, but one of the best fighters today.
“I want to be champion,” Doumbe said. “I want to knock everyone out and show that I am the best and I can beat everybody also in MMA. I just want to show people that I’m special, and there’s no one like Cedric Doumbe. I want to show it and make history.”
