The world knew Jake Paul was fighting on December 24th … and now we know who will be waiting for him in the squared circle — French MMA star, Cedric Doumbe!
“Cedric Douchebag was calling me out two years ago after knocking some dude out in nine seconds,” Paul said while announcing the fight.
“Well, Douchebag, now you get your chance. I’m rusty, my jaw is janky and I don’t have kickboxing world titles like you do. But guess what, this isn’t kickboxing mon ami. This is BOXING.”
Of course, it’ll be the Problem Child’s first fight since Anthony Joshua shattered the above-mentioned jaw last December … a fight so brutal some people expected Jake to retire.
How bad was it? JP needed multiple surgeries … teeth pulled, titanium plates installed … and the recovery was long and painstaking.
Now, Jake’s healthy, and he’s back.
The rules? It’s a professionally sanctioned, eight-round cruiserweight bout, with both guys wearing 10-ounce gloves.
If you’re not familiar with Doumbe … the Cameroonian-born Frenchman is a multi-time kickboxing world champ who made the jump to MMA in 2021.
The 34-year-old is signed to the PFL, the MMA promotion that Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions merged with in July. He’s won two of his last three fights since 2023 … but he only has ONE pro boxing match on his record — a win back in 2015.
Meanwhile, Paul is 12-2 as a pro, with his only losses coming to Tommy Fury and A.J., the longtime heavyweight champ.
Jake even cracked the WBA cruiserweight rankings after beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. — a former champion — in July 2025 … but lost that spot in January after the Joshua loss.
Naughty or nice … this Christmas Eve belongs to the Problem Child!