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PFL Star Cedric Doumbé Loses Bellator Paris Opponent to Grisly Injury

This matchup for Bellator Paris fell apart shortly after it was announced.

Drew Beaupre

(PFL)

A freak accident has cost Bellator Champions Series: Paris one of its biggest fights just a day after it was announced.

Bellator officially began a new era last month when it held its first standalone event in Belfast after the promotion was purchased by the PFL, and the second Bellator Champions Series card is scheduled to take place in Paris on May 17.

Yesterday it was announced that rising PFL star and former kickboxing champion Cédric Doumbé would make the jump over to Bellator to face Derek Anderson in Paris, but Anderson revealed via Instagram that a gruesome injury sustained while riding his motorcycle has forced him out of that matchup.

Losing Doumbé is a significant blow to the Bellator Champions Series card in Paris, and now Anderson will likely be on the shelf for a significant period after he last stepped into the Bellator cage in 2021 and was stopped by Michael “Venom” Page in the first round.

It remains to be seen if Doumbé will be rebooked against a different opponent for what would be his Bellator debut. After the Anderson bout was first announced the Frenchman did exchange some words with Magomed Umalatov, who is currently participating in the PFL welterweight tournament and just defeated former Bellator champion Andrey Koreshkov earlier this month.

“Le Meilleur” debuted for the PFL last year to considerable fanfare and capitalized on all of the pre-fight hype when he knocked Jordan Zébo out in just nine seconds, but unfortunately Doumbé’s PFL Europe main event against Baysangur Chamsoudinov in March controversially ended in the third round due to a splinter in his toe.

The Bellator Champions Series event in Paris does still feature a high-profile title bout in the main event when reigning bantamweight king Patchy Mix takes on Magomed Magomedov, and perhaps a replacement opponent will be found for Doumbé so the promotion can continue capitalizing on his considerable popularity in France.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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