Jake Paul has announced he will fight MMA star Cedric Doumbe on December 24 in Dubai.
The bout will be a professionally sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight contest at the Coca-Cola Arena, with both fighters using 10oz gloves.
This will be Paul's first fight since losing to former British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua last December. The American suffered a broken jaw in that contest, requiring two titanium plates and the removal of some teeth. In May, Paul said his boxing career was "most definitely" in doubt following the injury.
Doumbe, a Cameroonian-born Frenchman, is a multi-time kickboxing world champion who switched to MMA in 2021. The 34-year-old is signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), which merged with Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) in July. He has won two of his three fights since joining the PFL in 2023 and holds one professional boxing victory from 2015.
Paul has won 12 of his 14 professional fights, with his only defeats coming against Tommy Fury and Joshua. In July 2025, he entered the WBA's cruiserweight rankings after beating former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, but lost that ranking following his defeat by Joshua, in which he was knocked down twice and stopped in the sixth round.
