American vows to KO Cedric Doumbe 'inside four rounds' at Coca-Cola Arena on Christmas Eve

Show caption: Jake Paul takes the mic at the New Covent Garden Theatre in …

Jake Paul swept into Dubai on Thursday night and delivered a confident but enigmatic sales pitch for his Christmas Eve comeback against Cedric Doumbe.

Paul will fight Doumbe, a former two-time kick-boxing world champion, at the Coca-Cola Arena in an eight-round cruiserweight bout next month. It will be his first fight in the UAE after his company, MVP, signed a deal with the Dubai Sports Council.

A social media star with around 75 million followers across platforms, Paul first boxed professionally in 2020. He is also a deeply polarising figure.

Often content to play the role of pantomime villain, the American basked in an uncommonly warm welcome in Dubai and instead offered a little bit of everything at the New Covent Garden Theatre inside Mall of the Emirates.

There was bravado, of course, as he mocked Doumbe as “low IQ” and pointed out that his dog has more Instagram followers than the Frenchman.

But there were also moments of genuine insight: “People made me the bad guy, so I embraced it when I was younger and just been running with that ever since.”

Paul veered from profanity to praise and ridicule to respect in the space of 30 minutes on stage, but there was little of the venom we have seen before from a man who perfected the art of trolling long before he picked up boxing gloves.

Both men preferred to charm the crowd, with Doumbe donning a kandura and speaking in Arabic, while Paul’s popularity, especially among younger fans, was unmistakable.

“Dubai is one of my favourite cities, one of the most beautiful cities,” said Paul. “I love the people, the culture. Everyone has been so hospitable ... so excited for Christmas Eve. It's going to be a great show.

“This is one of the biggest and best cities in the world. We only do big events. We had to bring it here for the people. We have a ton of fans here. They love fighting. We've always wanted to do a fight on Christmas Eve."

It was all a stark contrast to 48 hours earlier in Paris, where Paul bluntly told a hostile crowd: “**** off, France.” The 29-year-old likes to act the fool. When in character, that is very much the case. Everything could be a viral clip.

But appearances can be deceptive. In just a few years, MVP, which he runs with business partner Nakisa Bidarian, has become the fastest-growing promotional company in combat sports, spanning boxing, MMA and whatever word you might use to describe Paul’s own bouts.

The latter have given the company a jump-start. His 2024 exhibition against a pensionable version of Mike Tyson was screened on Netflix and smashed records for viewership and revenue. His personal fortune is said to stretch into nine figures.

MVP’s timing is also impeccable. The promotional landscape in combat sports is shifting. Zuffa Boxing, fronted by Dana White and backed by Saudi Arabian capital, has traditional promoters like Top Rank, Golden Boy and Matchroom on the ropes.

That flux has created opportunities for an upstart like MVP, which has become a major player in women’s boxing and, by Bidarian’s count, has more than 350 athletes on the books.

And while the UFC remains dominant in MMA, a recent merger with the PFL suggests MVP is at least gearing up to be a nuisance.

As for Paul, he promised to knock Doumbe out “inside four rounds” and continues to call out big names from the world of boxing.

Yet what he says and what he does are two different things – and the latter can be hard to predict.

In his first 13 fights the biggest risk he took resulted in a narrow points loss to Tommy Fury. But in December 2025, Paul challenged former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a ludicrous bout that should never have been sanctioned.

That is where Paul is an enigma: shrewd enough to build an international promotional company from scratch, but crazy enough to climb through the ropes with Joshua.

At least he can provide an answer to an age-old pub debate: “How much to be punched in the face by [insert name of terrifying boxer].” In fairness, Paul’s number – $92 million, according to reports – would be hard to turn down for anyone. It did, however, cost him several teeth and his jaw, which is now pieced together with titanium plates and screws. Paul admits he got carried away.

“[Joshua] taught me that I am sometimes [expletive] for taking on such hard challenges and getting my jaw broken,” he said. “But I have no fear, and I think that is a good and a bad thing and [I am] just managing to move along with that.”

"Joshua taught him how to run," responded Doumbe, who insisted his decorated MMA career would help him overcome a "YouTuber".

As always with Paul, the action inside the ring is only a small part of the bargain and only a fraction of his vision. He is also a promoter and an entrepreneur, part flesh, part titanium and part TikTok algorithm.

He might never become a top fighter, but his boxing is an acquired skill. The showmanship comes naturally and seems to have found a receptive audience in Dubai.

Victory on Christmas Eve is expected to be straightforward – Doumbe has boxed just once and that was 11 years ago – while MVP’s deal with the DSC suggests we will see more of Paul in the UAE.

“Yeah, 100 per cent, man. I've got a lot of fights coming down the line,” he said when asked if he would continue to fight in Dubai.

Bidarian added: “We obviously also have the long-term deal with the PFL and Dubai Sports Council and DET. So, given the history of that relationship, being able to do this with Jake and MVP now is just a natural continuation of that.”