One of the best kickboxers ever will soon make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. According to a source close to the situation, two-time Glory kickboxing welterweight titleholder Cedric Doumbe is facing Darian Weeks at UFC Fight Night 209, aka “UFC Paris,” which will go down in Paris, France, on Sept. 3. The source asked to stay anonymous since the promotion hasn’t officially announced the matchup yet.
Doumbe is walking out to the Octagon for the first time bearing a record of two wins and no defeats. The French fighter fought for a long time under the Glory banner, where he won the 170-pound championship on two occasions. After piling up a 75-7-1 record, he transitioned to mixed martial arts following his latest victory over Murthel Groenhart at Glory 77 in January 2021. “The Best” scored his first victory with the four-ounce gloves after smashing Arbi Emiev with punches in the opening frame of their SuperKombat Universe encounter. In his latest appearance, he stopped Phruethukorn Chaichongcharden via second-round doctor stoppage at Mixed Martial Arts Grand Prix: Fight of Fame in July.
Legacy Fighting Alliance alum Weeks (5-2, 0-2) is looking for his first promotional triumph. Weeks dropped back-to-back decisions to Bryan Barbarena and Ian Garry at UFC on ESPN 31 and UFC 273, respectively. Prior, Weeks went on a five-bout winning streak that featured all stoppages inside the distance.
UFC Fight Night 209 is headlined by a heavyweight affair between former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa. In the co-main event, former 185-pound kingpin Robert Whittaker takes on Marvin Vettori.
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