Jake Paul Books Cedric Doumbe for Dec. 24 in Dubai

Jake Paul comes back from a broken jaw against Cedric Doumbe, who is 6-1 in MMA with every win by knockout. MVP announced the Dubai fight on Monday.

A jaw that needed two surgeries

Paul's last fight was in December 2025. Heavyweight veteran Anthony Joshua knocked him out, the first knockout loss of his pro career, and the jaw was fractured. Two surgeries were needed to fix it.

Before that night the YouTube star stood at 12-2 as a pro boxer and had won six fights in a row. The list included Mike Tyson, Mike Perry and Nate Diaz.

Doumbe's record

Doumbe made his name in kickboxing and later moved to mixed martial arts. He has 45 knockouts and two titles won in the GLORY ring. In MMA he is 6-1, and every one of his wins came by knockout.

He fought twice in PFL. One bout ended with a nine-second knockout. In the next he lost after a freak injury caused by a splinter.

The last of his MMA bouts was for Bellator in May 2024, a one-round stoppage of Jaleel Willis.

Talk before the fight

Both men spoke in the announcement release. Paul played down his condition. "I'm rusty, my jaw is janky and I don't have kickboxing world titles like you do," he said, and added that this is boxing, not kickboxing. He also said press conferences will take place next week in Paris and Dubai.

Doumbe went straight to the Joshua fight. "I'm going to finish the job Joshua started," he said.

Format and venue

The card is on Dec. 24 at the Coca-Cola Arena. Paul and Doumbe will fight eight rounds at cruiserweight, which has a 200-pound limit, in 10-ounce gloves.

Broadcast details are still not announced.

Our View

Doumbe's results suggest he can end a fight quickly, while Paul returns on a repaired jaw. Nothing in the announcement says how the jaw has recovered.

Source: MMA Fighting