Jake Paul has his Christmas Eve opponent. Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) will face former two-time GLORY kickboxing world champion Cédric Doumbé on Thursday, Dec. 24 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, Most Valuable Promotions announced Monday.
The bout is a professionally sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight fight at 200 pounds with 10-ounce gloves. It’s Paul’s first fight since Anthony Joshua stopped him in the sixth round on Dec. 19, 2025, in Miami, a loss that left Paul with a broken jaw that needed two titanium plates and cost him some teeth.
MVP set the Dec. 24 date in Dubai last week without naming an opponent, after reports that the promotion was negotiating with four possible opponents. Paul teased the reveal on X with a bilingual post: “Guess who’s back… Devinez qui est de retour.”
Who is Cédric Doumbé?
The Cameroonian-born Frenchman made his name in kickboxing, where MVP lists his record at 75-7-1 with 45 knockouts. He moved to MMA with the PFL and went 6-1, with all six wins by knockout, including a nine-second finish of Jordan Zebo in his September 2023 PFL Europe debut in Paris.
His boxing résumé is thin. Doumbé is 1-0 as a pro boxer, and Ariel Helwani reported that the lone bout came in April 2015. Helwani also reported that Doumbé hasn’t competed since an MMA win in May 2024.
That fits a familiar pattern. According to BoxingScene, Doumbé will be the seventh opponent Paul has faced with one or fewer pro boxing fights on his record.
The trash talk has already started
Paul went straight at the gap between the two sports in MVP’s announcement.
Cédric Douchebag was calling me out two years ago after knocking some dude out in 9 seconds. Well Douchebag, now you get your chance. I’m rusty, my jaw is janky and I don’t have kickboxing world titles like you do. But guess what, this isn’t kickboxing mon ami. This is BOXING.
Doumbé went after the jaw.
Jake loves to talk, and so do I, but after what Joshua did to his jaw, I’m not sure how much talking he has left. I’m going to finish the job Joshua started.
MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian said Doumbé “has been calling to fight Jake Paul for several years and the timing of this matchup makes perfect sense.”
Tickets and press conferences
Tickets go on general sale Sunday, Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. GST (9 a.m. CET) through Coca-Cola Arena. Fans who register with MVP get presale access on Nov. 14, and PFL Dubai ticket buyers get an earlier window starting Nov. 6.
The fighters meet at two free, public kickoff press conferences: Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Pavillon Cambon in Paris (6 p.m. CET, 12 p.m. ET) and Thursday, Nov. 12 in Dubai (6 p.m. GST, 9 a.m. ET). MVP said broadcast details and the rest of the card will be announced in the coming weeks.
