“Marc Goddard stole the fight!” French superstar Cedric Doumbe blames referee for disappointing end to much-anticipated PFL fight

French PFL fighter Cedric Doumbe suffered his first career loss at PFL Europe in Paris.

“Marc Goddard stole the fight!” French superstar Cedric Doumbe blames referee for disappointing end to much-anticipated PFL fight

Cedric Duombe talks about referee Marc Goddard ( Image via X )

Cedric Doumbe recently faced his first MMA loss at PFL Europe 1. Doumbe has blamed it on veteran referee Marc Goddard.

French MMA star Cedric Doumbe lost to Baissangour Chamsoudinov in the main event of PFL Europe 1. He talked about it with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.

YouTube video

Doumbe said:

FS Video
He didn’t want to listen to me. I was very sad, because we trained three months, my team and me we did a lot of marketing about that fight, it was sold out, everybody was proud, everybody was waiting for that fight, and Marc Goddard just stole the fight. I really don’t understand.
Cedric Doumbe said

Doumbe claimed that referee Marc Goddard unfairly stopped the match. This was because of a splinter in Doumbe’s foot, which led to a TKO loss. Doumbe and Chamsoudinov had an intense competition in the first two rounds. In the third round, Doumbe complained about a foot injury and asked for a time-out.

Referee Marc Goddard told Doumbe to continue fighting however the Frenchman kept pointing to his foot again. This led Goddard to stop the fight in the third round. Goddard then awarded Chamsoudinov the technical TKO victory because of Doumbe’s injury. Doumbe later revealed that a shard of glass had prevented him from fighting. This loss would mark Doumbe’s first-ever loss in his MMA career.

Related: WATCH: “Turned little truck into ambulance” – French superstar Cedric Doumbe HILARIOUSLY books hospital bed for opponent day before fight [/relaed_content]

Why did Cedric Duombe never make his UFC debut?

Cedric Doumbé has won multiple championships and accolades in kickboxing. He then transitioned to MMA in 2021. Doumbé made his PFL debut in the main event against Jordan Zébo at PFL Europe 3. This happened back in September 2023 and won by knockout just nine seconds into the first round.

Cedric Doumbe Dana White
Cedric Doumbe jabs at Dana White’s UFC (Source: PFL/IMAGO)

Dana White apparently mishandled Cedric Doumbe’s potential UFC signing. This was highlighted by the PFL’s rapid event sellout of Duombe’s fight in less than half an hour. He originally planned to join the UFC in 2022, but his octagon debut fell through because of medical issues. Doumbe revealed that doctors made a mistake and sent paperwork without checking it.

Also, the French commission reportedly refused to sanction the fight, because of Duombe’s minimal MMA experience. Thus, Duombe lost the chance to make his UFC debut in his home country in Paris.

In case you missed it: