Cedric Doumbe out of PFL debut fight on June 23 due to injury

A promising former kickboxer who was set to make his debut for the Professional Fighters League (PFL) had to pull out of his fight.

Cedric Doumbe was set to fight Jarrah Al-Silawi on June 23 but was forced to pull-out after sustaining a wrist injury while training. The former two-time Glory kickboxing welterweight champion transitioned to MMA and signed with the PFL amidst other big signings like Francis Ngannou. The former kickboxing champion had this to say on Twitter:

"Hi guys, now we are training, we trained a lot, we trained a lot. Everything was good. At the grappling training, I don't know why but my wrist hurt, I told myself it will heal. There's always little injuries during the training camp. And then, at home, I wasn't able to move my wrist, it hurt so bad. I waited 2,3 days to see if it would pass. And the next day I wasn't able to use my wrist."

Take a look at the video:

Je reste positif et je reviens au plus vite ⏰🤜🏾 Jarrah a de la chance cette fois mais il ne peut pas se cacher. @pflmma c’est chez moi maintenant, alors je vais botter les fesses de tous ces poids welters … #ticTac ⏰ #PoignetMort #AlHamduliLlah https://t.co/uP0JpZGttT

Cedric Doumbe was one of the big signing the PFL made recently and fans were excited to see how the former kickboxer would fare in the world of mixed martial arts. Kickboxers have been pretty successful after switching to MMA, following the model of Israel Adesanya and more recently Alex Pereira. Fight fans will have to wait before they get to see Doumbe in the Octagon.

Cedric Doumbe tells Ariel Helwani why he did not sign for the UFC

Cedric Doumbe was set to make his MMA debut in the UFC and was all set to fight at UFC Paris. However, problems with the contract and certain health issues held the Frenchman back from fighting and he went on to sign for the PFL. During an interview with Ariel Helwani for The MMA Hour, Doumbe spoke about the different reasons why he did not sign:

“A doctor made a mistake in that test and he figured out that I have blood in my brain, and I used to do it like so many times when I fought, I had one boxing fight and I used to do it. I signed the paper to the UFC and I didn’t even check it, and they just respond to us that I can’t fight because the MRI is bad. So that’s why I didn’t fight at UFC Paris, that was a very big mistake.”

He also spoke about a law in France that did not allow him to fight his opponent because he did not have enough 'experience'. Doumbe also spoke about how heartbreaking it was to not see the deal go through.

Take a look at Cedric Doumbe criticizing MMA in France:

😂 le MMA en France c’est des barres. Il y’a une ambiance claquée qui plane … les gens attendent ton combat juste pour t’éteindre 😂😂😂 je suis PTDR. Tout le monde est prêt📲 😂 vous pouvez toujours attendre ⏳ c’est moi qui éteins, pas l’inverse ❌#sympaLaForce #AngleMort

Take a look at the interview (Quotes from 3:34 onwards):