Cedric Doumbe, the kickboxing star has ditched the UFC and signed a deal with Professional Fighters League (PFL) instead. The French kickboxer was all set for his debut UFC fight against Darian Weeks in 2022. However, the fight got canceled due to unpassed sanctions from the commission in France.
Now, Doumbe has signed a fresh deal with PFL to kickstart his career transition in MMA. After signing the deal with PFL, Doumbe disclosed the discrepancies in the paycheck between the two sports promotion brands. And according to him, the difference is huge.
Doumbe states that he will be paid $140,000 per fight; whereas UFC would just be paying him $20,000 per fight plus $20,000 as a winning bonus. Hence, Cedric will get up to four times the money that he was set to earn from the UFC, regardless of the results. He also has the chance to win $1 million if he wins the PFL welterweight tournament.
Cedric Doumbe says that he will be paid $140,000 per fight in the PFL 👀
He also says that he only would have gotten $20K show + $20K win bonus if he signed for the UFC 😳
via his YT channel pic.twitter.com/09mYFAFLTG
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) May 10, 2023
PFL is an American MMA league founded by Donn Davis in 2018. Since then it has been a competitor for UFC, although UFC has been an old player in this league. UFC has its benefits like a more loyal audience fanbase, more market, and more popularity as compared to much newer promotion brands like PFL.
Cedric Doumbe is a former kickboxing champion. He holds a very impressive record of 75-7 in kickboxing, among which he won 45 times by KO. Whereas he has a record of 4-0 in MMA, as he is relatively new in this field.
Doumbe will be seen competing in the June 2023 PFL event. The fight will take place in Atlanta. PFL has successfully kicked off its regular season with three events in Las Vegas in April. Cedric is excited to participate in the event. He has also warned the fighters of PFL in the welterweight division “I just wanna warn all the Welterweight in PFL, Cedric Doumbe is coming for your a****.”
Fans react to the shocking revelation from Cedric Doumbe regarding UFC pay
MMA fans across the globe have mixed opinions regarding the situation. Some believe that UFC is a platform with a very vast reach. Hence, if Doumbe had competed in UFC then it would have helped him gain more status and would have made his public image better. Cedric would probably be listed among the best strikers in UFC’s welterweight division.
If he’s any good he could’ve fought in the UFC, then if he’s too washed up or gets layed off from UFC he can make 3 times that at least somewhere else. The UFC raises ur image and status so much. People don’t understand that
— smesh everybody brotha (@mctrollin14) May 10, 2023
But no he’s gonna have no American fan base
— D (@spidermannmma) May 10, 2023
On the other hand, many MMA and kickboxing fans are coming forward and showing genuine support for Doumbe’s decision.
Gotta give @danawhite his props. The man has perfected people into thinking billion dollar company paying fighters peanuts is normal & fair.
Not many have that gift.
— Jared Michael (@JaredmChavez) May 10, 2023
Interesting. It will be interesting to see if more cases like this happen and if it could impact at the long run the well known issue of the UFC salaries. Maybe in the future the UFC could be obligated to offer more competitive salaries to get the better uprising fighters.
— Juan Cantor (@Juanmarincm) May 10, 2023
That’s very pathetic from the UFC. No wonder why people are signing else where.
— tonio (@ANTONIOEESPARZA) May 10, 2023
It just doesn’t make sense how the PFL can afford to pay fighters more than the UFC
— Locksmith P (@TheRealLockGod) May 10, 2023
Not true at all. The 20/20 thing was a joke because he referenced low UFC fighters pay being something like 10/10 so he said since Im Doumbe, they gave me 20/20 but that was a joke. All we know is that PFL is giving him 7 times more than what the UFC offered.
— AWUREDO (@AOUREDOO) May 10, 2023
Now it’s upon Cedric and his skills that will decide how far the kickboxer will go in his MMA career, along with the effects of this decision he has taken. What do you make of his decision? Let us know in the comments down below.