Photos By Most Valuable Promotions
Today at New Covent Garden Theatre in Dubai, UAE, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) hosted a press conference featuring fighters competing at the upcoming Christmas Eve Spectacle: Jake Paul vs. Cédric Doumbé on Thursday, December 24, 2026, and PFL Dubai this Saturday, November 14, at Coca-Cola Arena. The historic event will mark the return of Jake “El Gallo de Dorado” Paul (12-2, 7 KOs), who will face French superstar Cédric Doumbé (75-7-1, 45 KOs in kickboxing; 6-1, 6 KOs in MMA; 1-0 in boxing) in a professionally sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight bout at 200 pounds, with 10-ounce gloves. The matchup brings together two of combat sports’ most recognizable personalities for a major international sports and entertainment event. Moderated by Kris Fade, the press conference brought Jake Paul and Cédric Doumbé together for a second time this week to speak about their matchup.
To close the press conference, MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian announced the addition of a main card bout for Thursday, December 24, featuring Dutch powerhouse and former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix winner Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (47-19, 25 KOs, 17 submissions in MMA) in his professional boxing debut vs. British knockout artist and former UFC light heavyweight contender Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa (1-0, 1 KO in boxing; 17-6, 15 KOs, 1 submission in MMA) in a six-round heavyweight matchup. The press conference was brought to a close with the athletes facing off.
The Christmas Eve Spectacle: Paul vs. Doumbé takes place Thursday, December 24, 2026, at Coco-Cola Arena in Dubai. Tickets will go on sale Sunday, November 15 at 12 pm GST/9 am CET HERE; fans can sign up for presale access HERE
See quotes below and watch the full press conference replay HERE.
JAKE PAUL QUOTES
On fighting in Dubai: Dubai is one of my favorite cities, one of the most beautiful cities. I love the people, the culture. Everyone’s been so hospitable. So excited for Christmas Eve. It’s going to be a great show.
On why Dubai was chosen as a location: This is one of the biggest and best cities in the world. We only do big events. We had to bring it here for the people. We have a ton of fans here. They love fighting. They love Cédric. So it’s going to be just a good night overall at Coca-Cola Arena on Christmas Eve. We’ve always wanted to do a fight on Christmas Eve. We’ve been sitting there on Christmas Eve and realizing there’s no form of entertainment on, and so we’re going to make it a staple at MVP to have fights on Christmas Eve moving forward.
On Doumbé retiring, depending on the outcome: No, let’s put money behind it, not just retiring, because no one cares about you retiring. I didn’t even know you existed before this. No, no one in America knows who the fuck you are. My dog has more followers than you on Instagram. That’s actually a fact. You can go and type it in on Instagram. Nobody knows you exist, so we don’t give a fuck about your retirement. So if you win, I will pay you double your purse. If I win, you pay me your entire purse. Deal or no deal? Deal or no deal?
On his broken jaw: It’s feeling good. Got medically cleared, and it’s just a bone that gets broken, and it heals back stronger. So excited to be back in there against someone that’s my own size.
On this fight being a risk: Every fight’s a risk. Every fighter knows that there’s always that one punch or moment or thing that can go wrong. You never know. There’s always a risk in any single fight, and especially against the two-time kickboxing world champion with 45 knockouts. I don’t take anything away from Cedric. I just know what I’m capable of and what I’m going to do on Christmas Eve.
On how the fight will go: Yeah, the fans are saying first-round knockout. Look, I mean, these kickboxers are a little bit more awkward, so we’ll just be, you know, establishing the jab in the early rounds, picking him apart, learning his timing, and then from there it should be pretty easy to finish him off. And to the French fans, you know, all I have to say is Cédric, you know, he is your hero, but unfortunately, he’s going to lose, and he’s going to get knocked out on Christmas Eve.
On his childhood dream: I’m living it, man. Everything that I’ve accomplished and am doing on a day-to-day basis is to inspire the next generation and to change the world for the better, and to continue to show the youth what’s possible and the next generation what’s possible, and to be a living embodiment of the American dream, and coming from nothing and rising to the top, and helping others and lifting up others along the way, and making the sport of boxing and MMA a better sport, and helping fighters get paid. So, really living the dream, and shout out to God. I’m very blessed.
On how he is preparing for the fight: We’ve worked a lot on defense in the gym, specifically head movement, more combinations and punches, and then just changing up my conditioning in the gym as well. So, you know, fighting Anthony and such a big opponent who’s super experienced, I didn’t really get to showcase my skills and the things that I’ve improved on. So, December 24. I’m excited to show the updates and what we’ve been working on.
On his prediction for the fight: Yeah, inside of four rounds. All right. I’ll save you the dumbass explanation that he was trying to give.
CÉDRIC DOUMBÉ QUOTES
On changing training tactics: Boxing is a different sport, like way, way, way different sport. And I’ve been training in boxing. I’ve been boxing. I’ve been sparring in boxing. Obviously, sparring is not the same as boxing. But you know, first of all, I’m not a boxer. I’m not a kickboxer. I’m not an MMA fighter. I’m a fighter. You know, I was born for that, and I fought all my life. But this guy has been doing YouTube videos. That’s very good. He’s a good YouTuber. He’s been singing, dancing, but fighting? He doesn’t know what that means. Like fighting, you know. I look at his videos. I watch his gym. Very nice gym, beautiful. But you can smell. You can smell the blood. You can smell the work, the hard work, but me, you know, just look at my record. Do you really think this guy can beat me? Even though he’s a heavyweight, I don’t give a fuck. He’s a heavyweight. I’m a welterweight, and I will knock him out. And then you will see, you will say, “Damn, Cédric Doumbé.”
On how he feels going into this fight: I’ve been there so many times against real opponents, and if you watch my boxing record, I fought like monsters, and now I’m facing Jake Paul. Like, what are you talking about? What would I be scared of? You know, of course I’m stressed because of what I’m going to be doing. I’m not stressed about losing or getting knocked out, or he’s big, like he’s very big. But you know, we were in the building on top, and I saw him shadowboxing. I was like, is he doing it on purpose? Like doing shit shadowboxing like this? So, I don’t feel anything, you know. We are far from the fight, so the pressure is not there, not yet. The pressure is gonna be there, you know, in the locker room because it’s like I will feel like a lion, you know, in the cage. I just want the cage to get open and to eat, you know, my opponent.
On the pressure of fighting Jake: If you know my whole career, I’ve fought strong people, like real fighters, and now I’m facing Jake Paul. Like, the pressure is on me, or like, is he going to finish my career? I said no. There is no pressure. You know, I’ve been there so many times, and there is no real pressure. The pressure will be there as a fighter. You know, I’m stepping into the ring, so of course I have to feel that pressure, and this is the pressure I need to perform inside the ring. If I go into the fight without any pressure, this is not very good. So I need that pressure to knock him out. I need that pressure to be focused and to deliver a very good fight.
On taking the bet if he loses: I take a bet because I’m 100% sure I will win the fight. You know, and you guys are talking about stress. That’s why I have to confess, I’m really stressed because I haven’t decided yet how I’m going to knock him out. Like, I’m very stressed. This is a very big problem for me. Second round or last round? I’m thinking about it every day, every day, because you guys don’t know, maybe, but Jake is my boss. Jake is my boss, so I’m going to get paid to kick my boss’ ass. So, you’ve never seen that before. So that’s the first time you will see that he’s my boss, and to us he’s my boss. I need to be kind. So, second round, I think I’m gonna make it quickly, like second round, knockout, asleep. So I think I will be nice. I don’t want to make him suffer.
On Jake fighting Anthony Joshua: Fighting Anthony Joshua made him improve his running. Like, he runs so fast. I think now he knows how to run, now. I think now he runs faster than the last one.
On fighting in Dubai: Dubai is a very beautiful country. This is not big news. Everybody knows that, and I wanted to show the world why Dubai is amazing, and also I want to show the people of Dubai who I am, how strong I am, and how I’m gonna beat this guy in front of me.
On his prediction of how the fight will go: Yeah, of course I’m confident. He never fought, he never fought anyone, ever, anybody. The only good boxer he fought, he got knocked out, and he got his jaw broken. But Mike Tyson was a good fighter, and Anderson Silva was a good fighter. Tyrone Woodley was a good fighter, but Anthony Joshua is a good fighter, and he knocked him out. I’m a good fighter. I’m the best, and I will knock him out. So, as I say, I think I feel better in the second round. So if I want to do it quickly, I think I will go for the second round. But my coach wants me to play with him and to make him suffer, like to teach him how to box. I love the crowd; I love the audience. I think I will show them; I will give them like five, six rounds.
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