French kickboxer-turned-mixed martial artist Cedric “Le Meilleur” Doumbe already holds himself in high regard when it comes to the mixed martial arts (MMA) scene in France, even if he’s only had a handful of professional fights in the sport.
While Doumbe has an impressive 75-7-1 record in kickboxing, he’s only had five professional MMA bouts – all wins by knockout. His latest foray into MMA was his most high-profile and most impressive to date, making his highly-anticipated Professional Fighters League (PFL) Europe debut by scoring a nine-second KO over fellow Frenchman Jordan Zebo.
With such a performance on the biggest stage that he’s been on, it’s no surprise that the 31-year old is laying claim to the title of “Face of MMA in France”.
“I think, and I’m 100 percent sure, I am the face of MMA in France, and everybody knows that,” Doumbe said via a popular websit. “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.”
While France may not exactly be a hotbed of talent when it comes to MMA, there have been quite a few who have made their mark in the sport. Today, names like Benoit Saint-Denis, Nassourdine Imavov, Manon Fiorot, and Cyril Gane among others proudly fly the French flag in MMA.
Doumbe, whose moniker aptly translates to “The Best” in English, believes that he’s at a level above those aforementioned names.
“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,” he said. “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.”
As confident as Doumbe already sounds, he still has even bigger aspirations, one that includes capturing world championship gold.
“I want to be champion. I want to knock everyone out and show that I am the best and I can beat everybody also in MMA,” he expressed. “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.”
Doumbe makes his return to the PFL SmartCage against fellow undefeated Baissangour "Baki" Chamsoudinov in the main event of PFL Europe 1 in Paris on Thursday, March 7th.