Jake Paul to fight Cédric Doumbé at Coca-Cola Arena on 24 December
YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul will box French kickboxing champion Cédric Doumbé in Dubai on Christmas Eve, with general tickets on sale from 15 November.
Coca-Cola Arena, City Walk
Jake Paul's next fight will take place in Dubai. His promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), announced on Monday that Paul will face Cédric Doumbé at Coca-Cola Arena in City Walk on Thursday 24 December, Christmas Eve. It will be the American's first fight since he lost to Anthony Joshua in December 2025, a bout that left him with a broken jaw.
The contest is a professional boxing match of eight rounds at cruiserweight, with a limit of 200 pounds and 10-ounce gloves. MVP says the event is organised in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council and Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, and that the channel or platform showing it around the world will be named later.
Paul, 29, turned professional in 2020 and has a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, with 7 wins by knockout. His opponents have included Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, Julio César Chávez Jr. and, in November 2024, Mike Tyson. Doumbé, who was born in Cameroon and raised in France, comes from a different sport: he is a two-time GLORY kickboxing world champion with 75 wins in that sport, and has won six of his seven mixed martial arts fights, all by knockout. He became widely known after a nine-second win on his PFL debut in Paris in 2023. Paul played down the gap in a statement, saying the fight "isn't kickboxing".
Before fight night, the two will meet the public twice. A press conference in Paris is set for 10 November, and a Dubai press conference follows on Thursday 12 November at 6pm. MVP says both are free and open to the public; the Dubai location has not been announced yet.
Tickets come in three stages. People who bought tickets for PFL's Dubai event get the first chance on Friday 6 November at 12pm. Fans who register on MVP's event page can buy from Saturday 14 November at 12pm, and general sales open on Sunday 15 November at 12pm on Coca-Cola Arena's website. Ticket prices have not been announced. The arena holds about 17,000 people, so anyone set on going should register for the presale and be ready at noon on the day.