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PFL Paris: Cedric Doumbe injured by broken glass in bizarre main event TKO

An action-packed card ends in unexpected circumstances as a shard of glass brings an unfortunate end to the night’s headliner.
PFL Europe

The PFL Europe season opener in Paris, France produced a night packed with exciting action and plenty of finishes, but the final finish of the night left fans in the Accor Arena scratching their heads after a bizarre occurrence that left an unwanted outcome.

The headline bout featured kickboxing superstar Cedric Doumbe, who put his unbeaten record against fellow undefeated prospect Baysangur Chamsoudinov. It was a matchup that pitted striker against wrestler and, in the opening round, it was Chamsoudinov who held the upper hand after scoring multiple takedowns on Doumbe.

Despite being taken down on numerous occasions, Doumbe showed some decent scrambling ability to get himself out of trouble and back to his feet. And, as the second round wore on, the striking ace started to find a home for his punches as he arguably did enough on the feet to take Round 2 on the scorecards.

Round 3 started with both men throwing big shots but, just over a minute into the round, Doumbe appeared to pick up a toe injury. After Doumbe motioned to referee Marc Goddard that he had an issue with his toe, the official told him that the fighter couldn’t pause the fight to address an injury.

The bout then resumed, but after a short spell with both men standing and not throwing, Chamsoudinov pointed to Doumbe’s inactivity and Doumbe again motioned to his foot. That was enough for Goddard, who waved off the fight.

The bizarre finish meant that Doumbe took the first loss of his pro MMA career, and there were plenty of vociferous protests and discussions after the decision as Doumbe questioned Goddard’s call.

The issue was revealed to be a shard of glass that had become embedded in the underside of Doumbe’s big toe. Unfortunately for the former Glory kickboxing world champion, the Unified Rules of MMA don’t contain clauses to specifically address incidents of fighters being injured by foreign objects or external factors during a fight.

PFL Europe

‘The Lazy King’ edges Grant in grappling chess match

In the co-main event, “The Lazy King” Abdoul Abdouraguimov once again showcased his grappling skills, but he was unable to find the finish, thanks to the seasoned submission defence of his opponent, former Cage Warriors title challenger Jack Grant.

Abdouraguimov attempted multiple submissions over the course of the three-round matchup, including a Japanese necktie, a D’Arce choke and multiple guillotine chokes, but he couldn’t quite convert them to a finish as Grant, who played to the crowd by wagging his finger in defiance while trapped in the holds, successfully fended off the Frenchman’s attack.

Grant enjoyed some success on the feet, but over the course of the bout, it was Abdouraguimov’s attacking grappling and submission attempts that earned him the win on the judges’ scorecards, with the final totals reading 30-27, 28-29, 29-28.

PFL Europe

Lightweight and welterweight playoffs start to take shape

The bulk of the fight card in Paris featured the lightweight and welterweight divisions of the PFL Europe’s 2024 season, as the final four was set at 155 pounds, and three of the final four welterweights were also decided.

At lightweight, inaugural PFL Europe champion, Poland’s Jakub Kaszuba, booked his place in the playoffs with a hard-earned decision win over England’s former Bellator fighter Kane Mousah. The card’s other English lightweight contender, Connor Hughes, had a more successful night as he blasted into the playoffs with a first-round knockout of Germany’s Anatolij Baal. Also heading to the playoffs is Italian contender Daniele Scatizzi, who caught the eye with a heel-hook finish of Aleksandr Chizov, and Ignacio Capella, who knocked out Yazid Chouchane in the second round of their regular season bout.

The welterweight division saw three fighters progress to the playoffs. Ibrahim Mane edged a three-round thriller with Chequina Noso Pedro to pick up the win via split decision, while Florim Zendeli submitted Tomasz Langowski via rear-naked choke. The night’s other welterweight winner, Daniele Miceli punched his ticket to the 170-pound playoffs with arguably the submission of the night as he finished Yassin Najid in just 27 second with a rarely-seen Von Flue choke.

PFL Europe

Masraf starches Groguhe in 10 seconds

French prospect Islem Masraf scored a colossal 10-second knockout of heavyweight Mickael Groguhe, then set his sights on the best middleweight under the PFL/Bellator banner.

Much was made of Groguhe’s languid style, and the fact that PFL officials struggled to find an opponent for him. But Masraf, a light heavyweight who wants to ply his trade as a middleweight, agreed to take the heavyweight fight, and boy did he take his opportunity with both hands.

Groguhe looked barely interested during the fighter introductions, then referee Marc Goddard needed multiple attempts to get the big Frenchman’s attention before starting the fight. When the action eventually did start, it didn’t last long.

Groguhe strolled out of his corner, disdainfully holding his hands down and almost inviting Masraf to try his luck. Masraf did, and knocked him out cold.

A huge left high kick connected to Groguhe’s head and dropped him down the canvas. Masraf then followed up with a huge right hand that knocked Groguhe out cold.

It was as sudden as it was vicious, and served as a timely reminder that the cage is no place to play games.

PFL Europe

Preliminary card roundup

The prelims delivered an action-packed start to the night with five high-octane fights that delivered four quickfire finishes, and one three-round war.

The night got underway with an incredible run of four first-round finishes, including three PFL Europe season winners, as Florim Zendeli, Daniele Scatizzi and Connor Hughes picked up rapid-fire wins via rear-naked choke, heel hook and knockout, respectively.

And the preliminary card concluded with a back-and-forth battle as Belgian prospect Patrick Habirora improved his fledgling pro MMA record to 2-0 with a unanimous decision win over Italy’s Claudio Pacella.

PFL Europe 1: Official results

MAIN CARD

  • Baysangur Chamsoudinov def. Cedric Doumbe via TKO (injury) – Round 3, 1:21
  • Abdoul Abdouraguimov def. Jack Grant via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Ibrahim Mane def. Chequina Noso Pedro via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – welterweight season
  • Ignacio Capella def. Yazid Chouchane via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:31 – lightweight season
  • Jakub Kaszuba def. Kane Mousah via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – lightweight season
  • Daniele Miceli def. Yassin Najid via technical submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 1, 0:27 – welterweight season
  • Islem Masraf def. Michael Groguhe via knockout (head kick and punches) – Round 1, 0:10

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Patrick Habirora def. Claudio Pacella via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Connor Hughes def. Anatolij Baal via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:13 – lightweight season
  • Daniele Scatizzi def. Alexandr Chizov via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:59 – lightweight season
  • Florim Zendeli def. Tomasz Langowski via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:11  – welterweight season
  • Kevin Del def. Younes Najid via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 1:10

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A sports editor and MMA reporter with 25 years' experience in sports media, Simon has covered mixed martial arts since 2009 for a host of national and international outlets, including UFC, BBC Sport, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport and the Daily Mirror.

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