Former Glory kickboxing champ Cedric Doumbe shoots down reports of UFC deal

• Cedric Doumbe posted a photo of a call from UFC president Dana White
• Cedric Doumbe has denied reports of a UFC deal
• Like Adesanya and Pereira, Doumbe was a dominant force in the kickboxing world

For former Glory kickboxing champion and devastating knockout artist Cedric Doumbe, the UFC portion of his combat sports career was supposed to get started back in September of last year. That’s when multiple sources reported that the 30-year-old Cameroonian-born Frenchman had been signed to take on Darian Weeks at UFC Paris: Gane vs. Tuivasa.

Unfortunately, and despite the fact that Weeks himself was only carrying a 5-2 MMA record (alongside a 1-1 boxing career), the French MMA Federation nixed the booking, on account of Cedric Doumbe’s limited 2-0 bouts worth of experience fighting inside a cage.

The former Glory kickboxing star quickly turned to Twitter after news broke that he’d no longer be on the card, to tell fans that while his debut had been delayed, he was still effectively a UFC fighter. Whatever agreement he may have reached with the promotion, however, it’s clear that getting more experience before stepping into the Octagon was going to be key.

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Doumbe competed twice more in MMA events, defeating 2-0 Florent Burillon via TKO last December and 4-1 Pawel Klimas on March 4th. Those wins took his record to a sparkling 4-0 in 4oz gloves, and it looks like the UFC has once again come calling.

Cedric Doumbe posted a photo of a call from UFC president Dana White

👀 pic.twitter.com/O1fF2OFaf8

— Cédric Doumbè (@CedricDoumbe) April 2, 2023

That tweet, along with an interview with French media outlet BeinSports, seem to have caused a lot of confusion, with several sites and pseudo-media accounts posting that Doumbe had now been signed to the UFC. Unfortunately, for fans hoping to finally see Doumbe test his skills on MMA’s biggest stage, it appears he’s still weighing up his options.

Cedric Doumbe has denied reports of a UFC deal

“I never said I signed to UFC” Doumbe wrote in a post to his Twitter account. “I said that the contract was signed (before #UFCParis) and that until I fight I’m not officially in the UFC so I can negotiate with other big organizations. You have to listen well when I speak.”

In a followup Tweet, Doumbe further clarified his stance, adding, “I know you all want to see me at #UFC. I really want to make you happy, but the choice offered to me is really not easy and at 30 [years old] it will be the last choice of my life. It’s not easy!”

J’ai jamais dit que j’avais signé à UFC.
J’ai dit dit que le contrat avait été signé (avant #ufcParis) et que tant que je n’ai pas combattu je ne suis pas officiellement à lUFC donc je peux négocier avec d’autres grosses organisations.
Il faut bien écouter quand je parle.
#📐💀

— Cédric Doumbè (@CedricDoumbe) April 2, 2023

Je sais que vous voulez tous me voir à l'#UFC.
J'ai vraiment envie de vous faire kiffer, mais le choix qui s'offre à moi n'est vraiment pas simple et à 30 ans ça sera le dernier #choix de ma vie.
Ce n'est pas simple ❗️💰V📸

— Cédric Doumbè (@CedricDoumbe) April 2, 2023

Like Adesanya and Pereira, Doumbe was a dominant force in the kickboxing world

Having started his kickboxing career back in 2013, Doumbe put together a stunning 75-7-1 record over his eight years as a pro, including 45 wins by knockout. Having competed in major organization including Glory and K-1, ‘The Best’ holds victories over Murthel Groenhart, Brad Riddell, Nieky Holzken, and Thongchai Sitsongpeenong among many others.

Doumbe picked up his first Glory kickboxing welterweight title back in 2016, with a split decision victory over Holzken, defending it twice before losing the belt to Groenhart in 2017. In 2019, however, he regained the title, with a 3rd round TKO victory over Harut Grigorian. He defended that belt three times, with KO victories over Alim Nabiev, Karim Ghajji and an avenging win over Groenhart in January of 2021. After that win, Doumbe announced his retirement from kickboxing to focus on MMA.

“Kickboxing is done,” Doumbe told the audience at an October 2021 fight event. “My next fight should be in MMA.”

For the moment, Doumbe doesn’t appear to have another fight booked. When he does decide to return to competition, it may just be that he’ll do so with the world’s largest MMA promotion. But that outcome seems far from certain at the moment.

No horsing around! – Alistair Overeem gets 1 year suspension from GLORY over failed drug test

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• Alistair Overeem suspended for a year

The specter of performance enhancing drugs has long hung over Alistair Overeem’s career, even while direct evidence of their use has been fairly limited. Back in 2012, Overeem was flagged by the NAC for an extremely elevated T/E (Testosterone/Epitestosterone) ratio—often a sign of steroid use. The ‘Reem’ claimed the drug test results were the result of a prescribed anti-inflammatory medication, but he was suspended from competition for nine months by the Nevada commission nonetheless.

Otherwise, it’s always been about the eye test. How did Overeem go from wiry light heavyweight to massive 265 lb juggernaut? Was it really just a steady schedule of heavy lifting and a high protein diet of horse meat, like he claimed?

Whatever the truth of it was, this latest news won’t help his legacy any. Back in November, GLORY revealed that the 42-year-old had failed an in-competition drug test from his recent decision victory over Badr Hari. While Overeem’s team sounded confident that it wasn’t a “performance enhancing” substance, and hoped he might even be cleared by the B-sample, Beyond Kick now reports that Dutch Anti-Doping Authorities—working alongside GLORY kickboxing—have suspended the former UFC title contender for one year.

Alistair Overeem suspended for a year

It’s still unclear exactly what showed up in Overeem’s tests, but apparently it was in his B-sample too. As a result of the drug test failure, Overeem’s win over Hari has been overturned to a no-contest and he has been fined a portion of his fight purse from the event.

“Alistair Overeem has been removed from the GLORY rankings and his fight again Badr Hari is ruled a “No Contest” due to a violation of GLORY’s anti-doping rules,” the promotion said in a brief statement. “His suspension is for 12 months, starting at his last fight – COLLISION 4. And he must return a percentage of his wages.”

While rumors had surfaced earlier this year that he was considering a jump over to ONE Championship for their openweight tournament, Overeem himself confirmed that he’s under exclusive contract with GLORY. Fans will likely have to wait until at least October if they hope to see him back in action.

Alistair Overeem returns to kickboxing against GLORY king Rico Verhoeven

When Alistair Overeem announced that he had signed with GLORY Kickboxing back in June, after a nearly ten-year run with the UFC, it came as something of a surprise. A decorated kickboxer in the past, Overeem hadn’t competed inside the ring since his legendary 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix run—capped off by a win over Peter Aerts in the finale.

A year later, Overeem stepped into the Octagon for the first time, limiting his combat sports career purely to MMA for the next decade. Speaking to Ariel Helwani back in June, however, the ‘Demolition Man’ explained his desire to return to kickboxing, now, after so many years away.

“For me, it would be awesome to finish my career where it started,” Overeem said of his contract with GLORY, “which is here in the Netherlands. And yeah, there’s some unfinished business there, right? With some of the fighters in GLORY; there’s been some words said back and forth. And yeah, I think let’s throw myself in that mix.”

As for the unfinished business with different fighters under the GLORY banner? The first name that sprang to mind was none other than Rico Verhoeven.

“If it’s up to me, I would immediately gun for gold, right? I would immediately go for the title. That’s me. So that would be Rico [Verhoeven]. We had a little bit of back & forth, scuffling, so that’s something I’d be looking for.”

At the time, Overeem refused to say whether or not a bout with Verhoeven was already in the works (or potentially even finalized for his debut), but now it appears that that is indeed the plan that Glory has in mind for the former Strikeforce & Dream champion. Speaking once again with Helwani on the MMA Hour, Overeem made the announcement official: that he will be facing the ‘King of Kickboxing’ on October 23rd at GLORY: Collision 3.

The event is set to take place at the 34,000 seat GelreDome in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and will be available on iPPV through GLORYFights.com (h/t MMA Fighting).

“Alright, so, next fight is announced. Next fight is booked, next fight is final,” Overeem told Helwain on Monday, August 23rd. “We will be challenging for the GLORY heavyweight kickboxing title. October 23, in the Netherlands, in my backyard. And yeah, it’s gonna be awesome. It’s gonna be versus Rico [Verhoeven], and I’m very excited.”

.@alistairovereem joins @arielhelwani to announce he’s challenging GLORY heavyweight champ Rico Verhoeven in October

Full story: https://t.co/6L6S5iXWkW pic.twitter.com/N6lzNbYn5O

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 23, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Verhoeven stopped by the MMA Hour as well to talk about the bout, telling Helwani that Alistair Overeem is “a name that I’d like to have on the list.” Adding that, while he feels Overeem stepping straight back into a title fight for his first kickboxing match in a decade might be a bit overambitious, “…that’s the fighter mentality and the fighter heart that he has. And he’s been fighting for so long. For my part, I think he knows what he’s getting into.”

Bill Goldberg looking to book first Glory kickboxing bout… against Frank Shamrock

Just a few months ago, we reported that former WCW and WWE star Bill Goldberg might have a kickboxing career in the works under the Glory banner. Not long afterword, Goldberg announced that he had turned down a proposed fight with Albert Del Rio, but was still open to booking something else down the line. Looks like the something else he had in mind was former UFC champion Frank Shamrock. Except this time, it was Goldberg getting the cold shoulder.

Hey @frankshamrock …… I’ll meet you in the ring at @GLORY_WS #GLORY21 How ’bout it?

— Bill Goldberg (@Goldberg) May 6, 2015

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Following the public callout, MMAMania reached out to Frank Shamrock for a response. They got back a terse text reading “I am retired.” So, it looks like that fight isn’t going to happen.

That’s two dream fights down. Anyone know if Jose Canseco is still looking to get back in the ring?

The Kickboxing Vivisection – Glory 21: Levin vs. Marcus picks, odds, & analysis

Glory kickboxing is back with another solid night of action on Spike TV this Friday night. Fans who tune in will get a pretty solid night of fights that promises to be action filled and entertaining, even if it’s short on name value (and possibly lacking in some technical skill). There’s a 4-man one-night heavyweight tournament featuring three gigantic dudes and one slightly more normal sized dude. There’s a showcase fight for awesome Karate stylist Raymond Daniels, and there’s a super-legit middleweight title fight for Glory Champion Artem Levin, facing one of the few men to best him in the ring, Simon Marcus.

That first fight took place under Muay Thai rules, where Marcus’ stylistic advantages really shown, under glory kickboxing rules, however, it’s expected to be an entirely different fight… But, that’s better left for the video itself, which you’ll have to watch if you want all the insight on Friday’s fight card. And of course, if you can’t seem to get our Ooyala player to work, you can watch the whole show over on YouTube. While you’re there, remember to give it a “like” and to subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM.

If you want an audio only version, it’s right here.

And, here’s the card, with odds from oddschecker.com:

Artem Levin (-200) vs Simon Marcus (+163)
Raymond Daniels (-1200) vs. Justin Baesman (+550)
Xavier Vigney (+200) vs. Maurice Jackson (+163)
Demoreo Dennis (+400) vs. Chi Lewis-Parry (-800)

Kickboxing Vivisection – Glory 19: Verhoeven vs. Zimmerman

We’re back with another MMA Kick-Jitsu No-Holds-Barred Kickboxing Vivisection. And by “another” I’m pretty sure I mean our first. Our own Mr. O’Regan who does a lot of our kickboxing coverage for us, and is live on the scene at Glory 19, was kind enough to sit down and lead me through what appears to be a pretty great night of fights, taking place on Febraury 6th, in Hampton, Virginia. Of course, the big focus is on the heavyweight title bout between champion Rico Verhoeven and challenger Errol Zimmerman, but we’re also talking about the welterweight contender tournament and a the return of no. 1 middleweight contender Joe Schilling. Oh, and Andy Ristie is fighting!

Just want to listen? Here’s the audio only link: Kickboxing Vivisection: Glory 19 AUDIO ONLY

Here’s a look at the whole card, the Superfight portion of which will apprently be broadcast on tape delay by CBS Sports later next week:

Spike TV Card

TBD vs. TBD (Tournament Final)

Rico Verhoeven vs. Errol Zimmerman (Heavyweight Title Fight)

Joe Schilling vs. Robert Thomas

Nieky Holzken vs. Alexander Stetsurenko (Tournament Semi-final)

Raymond Daniels vs. Jonatan Oliveira (Tournament Semi-Final)

Superfight (CBS Sports) Card

James Hurley vs. Cedric Smith

Josh Jauncey vs. Max Baumert

Andy Ristie vs. Steve Moxon

Francois Ambang vs. Stephen Richards

Brian Collette vs. Myron Dennis

Xavier Vigney vs. Everett Sims

If our Ooyala player isn’t working for you, head over to the YouTube version and watch there. And if you do, remember to give the video a like, and subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM, for more Bloody Elbow interviews and analysis.

Glory to release entire fight library for free on YouTube

When researching and watching old fights, few things have been tougher to get their hands on than Glory content. Unless of course, you were willing to pay as much as $54 for a three month subscription. I mean, I love kickboxing and all, but that could be my next pay per view right there. At least, until now. Glory announced today on it’s website, that they would be setting up a new, free YouTube channel, to house their massive fight library.

GLORY owns one of the largest fight libraries in the world, featuring more than 2,000 videos of classic and current hard-hitting encounters between the world’s top combatants.

World-class fights, high-definition quality – and now we’re letting fans access it for FREE.

The opening up of the archive commences today with GLORY 1 STOCKHOLM, which took place in May 2012 in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm.

GLORY’s debut event showcased the explosive action which characterizes our brand.

For MMA fans, this should mean the ability to watch classic Siyar Bahadurzada, Marloes Coenen, Akira Corassani, and many others. And of course, for kickboxing, Glory’s library consists not just of their modern run, but of their Ultimate Glory events as well. It stretches back to It’s Showtime and Ultimate Glory (along with the more modern United Glory) in the mid 2000’s and including fighters like Semmy Schilt, Daniel Ghita, Tyrone Spong, Jerome Le Banner, and the rest of the immense talent that has traveled through the Dutch kickboxing organization in its various forms over the years.

So, blank you calendar, turn off your phone, tell your loved ones to take care of your pets, and get ready to lose all that free time you’d been planning on. To roll it out, here’s Gokhan Saki vs. Carter Williams from Glory 1: Stockholm in 2012.

Glory 17: Ristie vs. Hollenbeck Preview with Fraser Coffeen & John O’Regan

Welcome to the big time! We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings as a simple magazine focused on Kenpo, Kyuokushin, and Kudo karate forms. We’ve dabbled in MMA from time to time, and even covered the occasional WWE pay-per-view. But, of all things it’s our Kickboxing coverage that has Bloody Elbow bursting into the public eye with our outstanding and increasing staff of writers covering the sport.

Bloody Elbow’s own Fraser Coffeen and John O’Regan (along with Duke Roufus, Luke Thomas, and others) give their thoughts on the upcoming Glory 17 card, taking place on June 21st, in Los Angeles, California. The card is set to feature Daniel Ghita vs. Rico Verhoeven for the Glory Heavyweight title, Marc de Bonte vs. Joseph Valtellini for the Glory Welterweight title, the highlighted match between Andy Ristie and Ky Hollenbeck, as well as Mirko Crocop, Miguel Torres, Filip Verlinden, and Artem Levin. Ristie vs. Hollenbeck will be part of the Spike Prelim broadcast, with the main card taking place on PPV. Check it out.