Jake Paul makes a promise if he loses to Cédric Doumbé: "100% retiring if I lose to this guy"

Jake Paul vs Cédric Doumbé kickoff press quotes

Today at Pavilion Cambon in Paris, France, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) hosted the kickoff press conference for the Christmas Eve Spectacle: Jake Paul vs. Cédric Doumbé, taking place Thursday, December 24, 2026, at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE. 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 kickboxing; 6-1, 6 KOs MMA; 1-0 boxing) in a professionally sanctioned 8-round cruiserweight bout contested at 200 lbs with 10-oz gloves, bringing together two of combat sports' most recognizable personalities for a major international sports and entertainment event. 

The Christmas Eve matchup marks Paul's first professional fight in Dubai and pits one of boxing's biggest commercial attractions against one of Europe's most accomplished and recognizable combat sports stars. A former two-time GLORY kickboxing world champion and explosive PFL MMA contender, Doumbé brings elite striking credentials, championship experience and devastating knockout power into the boxing ring. The matchup unites two athletes who have built their careers on high-profile performances, outspoken personalities and an ability to command attention well beyond their respective sports.

Hosted by Séverine Parlakou, Paul and Doumbé came face-to-face for the first time to discuss their historic matchup and both athletes’ much-anticipated return under the bright lights. MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian faced off Paul and Doumbé to close the press conference. 

The Christmas Eve Spectacle: Paul vs. Doumbé takes place Thursday, December 24, 2026, at Coca-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 facing Cédric Doumbé: We're ready for this guy. Kickboxing world champion, Glory champion, one of the best in MMA. This guy's great. He is great. Very bien. But he's getting knocked the f**k out on Christmas Eve. Kickboxing will not help him, people. On December 24th, the legs will just be used for transportation. This is boxing. He's gonna learn a very, very hard lesson. And at the end of the day, he's still a tune-up fight for me. 

On why he chose to face Cédric: I mean, he has all of these fans. He's a big name. He's a world champion. He's one of the best kickboxers, one of the best MMA fighters. He's young, still on top. He has a big following, and I have said it before, and I'll say it every single time. I'll fight anyone, anytime, any place. And this is the fight that lined up and made the most sense. And he's Muslim. We're going to Dubai; it's gonna be a movie. It's gonna be a movie. It doesn't get better than this. So I'm very excited. He's the perfect opponent for me.

On Cédric trash-talking:  Hey, talk your shit. I'm finally glad I get an opponent that talks shit. I'm used to carrying the promotion on my back. Please talk your shit, Cédric. Sell the pay-per-views. 

A message to the Paris fans: When here in Paris, his hometown, home country. I mean, actions speak louder than words. They'll see December 24th, just like their city burned down. I'm gonna burn this guy to the ground.

On the difference between facing Cédric versus past opponents: The difference is, he's never been in there with someone like me in boxing. It's a completely different sport. That's what he doesn't understand. He's gonna learn. And by the way, I think he's great. He thinks I'm underestimating him. He's a KO artist. He's a two-time world champion. He's the highest of his pedigree. He's what, 33 years old. He's in his prime. He's still, you know, on top of this whole entire game. And so he thinks I'm underestimating him. It's not what I'm doing. I'm training as hard as I possibly can. And I know he's going to bring a tough fight, but it's just not going to be enough, and that's it at the end of the day. 

On confirming retirement if Cédric wins: 100% retiring if I lose to this guy. Sure, like 100%. For sure. For sure, for sure.

On his ambitions to become a boxing world champion: Yeah, 100% it's possible. To any kid watching out there, to anyone around the world, anything you set your mind to and put in the work to match it is possible. People really don't believe that, and that's why they stay in one place their whole entire lives, and I'm the living definition of anything is possible. This is just the start of my career. I'm just getting comfortable as a boxer, and within the next two to three years, becoming world champion is already possible for sure. I've been in the top 10 of cruiserweight rankings already, and the experience and fights that I've had in the past 18 months have proven to make me so much better in sparring. People haven't even seen this version of me that they're going to see on December 24th.

On Cédric calling him out: Yeah, he called me out. Look, anyone who calls me out and shit-talks and says that they can beat me at the end of the day, I'm gonna take the challenge and prove to him, and everyone out there, and his fans, that he's not as good as me, and that he's going to get knocked out. I know. 

On Cédric’s prediction of knocking him out: I'm just gonna bring a piece of glass, and... he's gonna f**king lose. It's really that simple. Just my outfit's gonna be some glass, and then it's gonna be over in one round. Joke's on him.

On weakness he sees in Cédric’s game: Yeah, a lot of wild looping shots, no straight shots, everything he throws is predictable. He telegraphs his shots. He doesn't set anything up. But he does have power, you know, behind them sometimes. Doesn't have a good jab, not-so-good defense, and his chin is in the air. The body is open. There's a lot, there's a lot. 

On when he thinks the fight will end: It will probably happen pretty early, third or fourth round. He has a lot of holes in his defense, and... he's very exposed, and it's gonna be easy to pick him apart with the jab very early on, and then find an opening and finish him off.

On Fighting in Dubai: I love Dubai. The fans, they are amazing. It's such an amazing city, and they're gonna show out, and it's gonna be a great Christmas Eve event special, and everyone around the world is gonna be able to tune in while they're enjoying time with their family. There's no form of entertainment on Christmas Eve. That's why me and Nakisa have always wanted to do a fight then. And it's going to be amazing for everyone to tune in, and Dubai is the best place in the world to do it right now.

CÉDRIC DOUMBÉ QUOTES

On getting the opportunity to fight Jake Paul: I have more than 75 fights; I've never fought a go-go dancer. That would be the 1st time. So we'll see. Oh, Jake. I have to say... Hey, I say, you look like a go-go dancer with all the bling on you. You look like your wife. You look like a bitch. Dance for me, dance for me. 

On why he originally called out Jake Paul: I trained very hard all my life, and the fight game is very hard. I trained very hard all my life, and when I fought, it was very hard. And once, I would love, once in my life, to fight an easy fight. That's why I called him out, because I would like to face a guy who is not strong, beat him easily, and take my money. So he accepted the fight. Thank you, Jake.

On preparations for the fight: I do nothing. I just watch videos on Netflix. I just want this fight, this clown fight. I don't really do nothing. I have everything to beat this guy. This guy is a joke. He's a very great YouTuber, but he's not a fighter. He's not even a good boxer. I just need to lose weight to face this guy. My weight now is 100 kg. I just need to lose weight. That's why I'm training now. I'm not training to beat him. I'm training to lose weight. That is why I'm training. I'm not training to avoid any of his skills. You don't have anything.

On wanting to defeat Paul: Listen, guys, guys, guys, guys. I want to thank... I want to thank Nakisa. He's the boss. And Jake, he's the boss, too. I want to thank Nakisa, because that's the first time I will face my boss and knock him out. My boss will pay me to knock him the fuck out. That's crazy. We never see that. You never see that before.

On fighting Jake in MMA: This guy is crazy. He's really crazy. He wants to face me in boxing, and that's where I'm stronger than MMA or kickboxing. I'm stronger in boxing. Now, he thinks he will beat me; he will face me in MMA. What the fuck are you talking about? And after MMA, what would you want? A wrestling match? The go-go dancing match? I think he's high right now. I think he smoked something before the press conference. 

On respecting Jake Paul: I respect that he chose me. That's why I respect. I respect him as a person, but as a boxer, I would never respect him. If he beats me, that will never happen; then I will respect him as a boxer. 

On only needing one punch to knock Jake out: I don't need to be a good boxer. I just need one punch. I did it 45 times before. One punch. Only one punch. You have eight rounds. I only need one punch. And he thinks he will avoid every punch. That's impossible.

On his prediction for the fight: Which round will I choose to knock him out? I used to knock people out in the second round, because first round warm up, second round, my shape, my condition, everything is good. But my coach told me that he wants a small death. He wants me to play with him and to show him what real boxing is. So I don't know; I have two options. Oh, I knock him out in the second round, or I knock him out in the seventh or eighth round. 

On Jake’s weaknesses: He's boxing. He has only three punches: jab, right hook, and body jab. That's it. No power, nothing, is fat, no abs, nothing. Only, maybe, good tattoos, but tattoos don't help you in the ring.