There are debuts – and then there’s what Cedric Doumbe did Saturday in Paris.
At PFL Europe 3, Doumbe (5-0) treated his home country crowd to a memorable performance when he knocked out opponent Jordan Zebo (4-1) in just nine seconds.
Doumbe, a former Glory Kickboxing champion with a 75-5-1 kickboxing record, may have overdelivered on an already highly-anticipated first PFL showing.
Before the fight even started, Doumbe had the crowd in the palm of his hand at Zenith Paris. As the crowd played along with opening chants during his walkout, Doumbe walked through the crowd with a mattress and pillow.
Following the cage announcer’s introduction, Doumbe hosted another chant as he spoke to the crowd just before referee Marc Goddard’s instructions.
The fight itself was over in a flash, as Doumbe caught a high kick attempt by Zebo. As Zebo turned Doumbe hammered him with a left hand and follow-up shots, that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
HOLY 🤬! DOUMBE WITH THE FINISH IN SECONDS!#PFLParis
🇫🇷 EN EXCLUSIVITE sur RMC Sport
🇪🇺 INTERNATIONALLY LIVE on DAZN pic.twitter.com/UTRWWAF9qL— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 30, 2023
Soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé was among those whose mouths dropped, as he watched cage-side in absolute awe.
WOW CÉDRIC DOUMBÉ !!!! 😯🔥
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) September 30, 2023
Doumbe, 31, enters PFL with a bang. He signed with the promotion in May after being linked to the UFC. While details still remain unclear, Doumbe was expected to compete for the UFC in Paris September 2022. After the French commissioning body determined Doumbe’s limited MMA experience was, in its view, too much of a discrepancy from his targeted opponents, the promotion and fighter parted ways.
DOUMBE HAD MBAPPE 😲😲😲#PFLParis pic.twitter.com/aUuoeqydio
— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 30, 2023
Full PFL Europe 3 results include:
- Cedric Doumbe def. Jordan Zebo via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:09
- Abdoul Abdouraguimov def. Brad Wheeler via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:43
- Jakob Nedoh def. Anthony Salamone via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:35
- Simeon Powell def. Daniel Ladero via unanimous decision
- Dakota Ditcheva def. Cornelia Holm via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:55
- Yazid Chouchane def. Henrique Madureira via unanimous decision
- Laureano Staropoli def. Baba Boundjou Nadjombe via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
- Khushed Kakhorov def. Ali Taleb via unanimous decision
- Frans Mlambo def. Mokta Benkaci via split decision
- Jakub Kaszuba def. Dylan Tuke via unanimous decision
- John Mitchell def. Geysim Derouiche via unanimous decision
- Shanelle Dyer def. Luisa Fernanda Cifuentes via unanimous decision
