Jake Paul vs. Cedric Doumbe Set, Latest on Rules, Schedule, Location for Return Fight from Injury

Jake Paul went in a surprising direction for his next opponent for his return fight next month.

After Paul announced last week that he would be fighting on Christmas Eve in Dubai following last December's knockout loss to Anthony Joshua, Most Valuable Promotions announced on Monday that the 29-year-old will face Cedric Doumbé in an eight-round cruiserweight match in his comeback to the ring.

Helwani noted that Doumbé hasn't fought professionally since his last MMA win in May 2024 because he "quietly left competition to focus on family and other personal matters." A veteran kickboxer with a 63-7-1 record, he fought just one boxing match in April 2015.

Doumbé being tabbed as Paul's next opponent is a bit of a shocker after Paul previously called out a long list of potential targets, including Conor McGregor, Canelo Alvarez, Francis Ngannou, Deontay Wilder and Nate Diaz. While he's long faced criticism for cherry-picking his opponents, Paul made it clear that he's excited for his first fight since suffering a broken jaw in his loss to Joshua last year.

"Cédric Douchebag was calling me out two years ago after knocking some dude out in 9 seconds. Well Douchebag, now you get your chance," Paul said in a release. "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 responded: "Jake Paul calls himself the Problem Child, but he's never faced a problem like me. He has no idea what a Frenchman is capable of, and on Thursday, December 24 in Dubai, I'm going to eat 'El Poulet' for dinner. 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."