I’m MMA’s next biggest superstar in Europe and have the backing of Kylian Mbappe… but here’s why I turned down UFC
CEDRIC DOUMBE says he will become MMA’s next superstar in Europe thanks to his adoring fans – with Kylian Mbappe among them.
Doumbe is a kickboxing legend but in 2021 he crossed over to the cage where he is now 5-0.
Last year he signed with the Professional Fighters League and made his debut with the promotion in the French capital against Jordan Zebo.
The crowd was packed out in the Accor Arena but they got only nine seconds of action as Doumbe made super quick work of rival Zebo.
Even the most A-list of names like Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi were left stunned with the viral KO.
It made Doumbe an overnight sensation but according to the man himself it is just the beginning.
He told SunSport in Paris: “I know that my fans have got too much power. They’ve got my back, they’re following me everywhere.
“It’s a pleasure for me, I don’t have enough words to say thank you to them. We back it up and I’m definitely the next superstar in Europe.”
Mbappe – due to leave PSG at the end of the season – took a private jet to watch Doumbe fight and was left head in hands in shock of the KO.
And Doumbe said: “Of course, he really enjoyed it and he can’t wait to come back again. And he will.”
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The welterweight briefly signed for the UFC in 2022 but he left without even having a fight for the promotion.
He was due to face Darian Weeks but the commission would not sanction it due to the ex-kickboxer having under ten MMA bouts with more than a four-fight differential compared to his opponent.
It allowed rivals PFL to swoop in and snap up Doumbe, who also shot to mainstream fame on Netflix’s reality TV show The Circle.
Doumbe said: “I had the chance to once go to the UFC but they didn’t offer me good money.
“Of course, we do it for the legacy, we do it for the fans but also for family to raise our family, to take care of them.
“I needed more money for what I deserved as a kickboxing world champion of the world but they didn’t.
“So I found with PFL the best organisation.”
Doumbe, 31, returns on Thursday night against bitter enemy Baissangour “Baki” Chamsoudinov, 22.
He said: “I talk, I talk, I talk but I always back it up. And I will knock him out, for sure.”