play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upSport|BoxingJake Paul to fight MMA star Cedric DoumbeYouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul to face mixed martial arts star Cedric Doumbe in boxing bout in Dubai.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoJake Paul is held back by the referee during his heavyweight bout against Anthony Joshua on December 19, 2025 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, the US [Ed Mulholland/Getty Images via AFP]By APPublished On 2 Nov 20262 Nov 2026Jake Paul is returning to the ring a year after the YouTuber-turned-boxer had his jaw broken in two places in a loss to former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
The 29-year-old Paul will face mixed martial arts (MMA) star Cedric Doumbe on December 24 in Dubai in what Paul’s promotion company – Most Valuable Promotions – called a “professionally sanctioned 8-round cruiserweight bout”.
Paul slipped out of the World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight rankings after the sixth-round knockout by Joshua in Miami last December, after which the American needed surgery.
Paul has fought primarily at the 200-pound (90.7kg) cruiserweight class in the majority of his bouts in a pro boxing career that began in 2020. He has won 12 of his 14 fights, with one of his victories coming against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in 2024.
Doumbe, a Cameroon-born Frenchman, was a kickboxing world champion and is now an MMA fighter.
