MMA: Doumbé loses to Baki on medical leave, flinches from the Bercy public

At the Accor Arena (Bercy)

The shock long awaited by French MMA started with a very tactical recovery. The first to the advantage of Baki thanks to very effective ground counterattacks, and the second to the advantage of Doumbé who scored a knock-down. In the last minutes of the third round, Doumbé complained to Marc Goddard, the British referee, of a pain in his foot.

The referee, deducing from his actions that he no longer wanted to fight, ended the fight. Baysangur “Baki” Chamsoudinov wins on medical timeout. This decision will cause a lot of talk in the coming days because Cédric Doumbé and his clan immediately protested against the referee's decision.

“I respect Cédric Doumbé who is a legend of his sport, kickboxing. But I consider the fight as a war, with its wounds,” declared Baki in the octagon.

On the PFL side, Dan Hardy, director of operations, wanted to take the burden off the referee's shoulders: “He is responsible for the integrity of the fighters, he didn't take any risks, he was right. Marc Goddard is one of the best referees in the world, he made the right decision. »

During the press conference, Cédric Doumbé gave confusing explanations. He admits to having left Baki the first round, but thinks he took the second and assures that he was going to win the third and the fight since he had understood Baki's plan: enter into a fight with grabs during kicks.

“It’s hard to say when it’s hot. There was nothing, it's frustrating, everyone could think that Baki or I had the advantage... But as we have different trajectories, we'll see. Logically after Baki I had to face Jason Jackson for the super champion belt.

Doumbé therefore refuses to really ask for a revenge. He also rejects the term, preferring to consider that there was not really a fight. “I already see memes about me on Twitter. It happens, it can be normal that there are things in the cage, people climb in with their shoes on” he continued. But a fighter does not have the right to stop the fight himself.

"I'm disappointed. I saw these kinds of decisions with the same referee. I told myself that I hoped it would never happen to me,” Doumbé also declared, putting the responsibility on the referee. “I am disappointed because I wanted to please the public, my family. It was my Bercy dream. I was jealous of the UFC. It was our evening. The ending is disappointing.

As usual, Baki did not mince his words at the press conference. “Unexpected events are part of the fight. My mentality is that we must continue no matter what. This is the art of combat, to cope in any conditions. I’m still happy with my victory.” He insists: “I’m only 22 years old. I just did a main event. I defeated the man who is the biggest star of French MMA in front of twenty thousand people.” Happy with your performance? “Of course I’m happy. I won."

“It was not my intention to humiliate him or make him lose his hype. I hope his hype continues. I think it was inevitable. One had to take the stairs while the other took the elevator. This evening I took the elevator,” he concludes. Is he up for a rematch? “I'm 22 years old, I just beat Cédric Doumbé in front of 20,000 people when everyone thought I was going to lose. Baki moves forward. We can have a revenge but we will have to think bigger, the Stade de France or the Parc des Princes.”

For Dan Hardy, there is only one possible outcome: rematch. “There will be another event, in an even bigger venue,” he told the press.

After several weeks of media hype, fans were impatiently awaiting this fight. The referee's stoppage was received in a mixed manner by the Accor Arena, which wanted to see the fight end.

At only 22 years old, “Baki” is making his mark for the first time in an international league. He is now on a series, since the start of his career, of 9 victories for 0 defeats.

For his part, Cédric Doumbé falls for the first time in MMA. If the scope of his international success takes a hit tonight, nothing is definitive for “The Best”. At 31 years old, Cédric Doumbé therefore has 5 victories for 1 defeat.