Cédric Doumbé’s first professional loss is one that will go down in MMA lore. While fighting at PFL Europe 1 in March 2024, Doumbé felt a shooting pain in one of his toes during his fight with Baissangour Chamsoudinov. Doumbé appealed to referee Marc Goddard to have someone take a look at a piece of glass that had become lodged in one of his toes.

However, Doumbé learned there are no timeouts in MMA. Goddard immediately waived off the fight, giving Chamsoudinov the TKO victory, while Doumbé fell to 5-1 in his career. Doumbé was supposed to fight Derek Anderson this Friday. However, Anderson was involved in a hit-and-run car accident. He had to pull out of the fight due to a foot injury.

Doumbé, who is a two-time former Glory Welterweight champion, will now take on Jaleel Willis in a welterweight scrap. Willis has seen mixed success during his time in LFA and Bellator. Willis has a 16-5 record and has lost twice by submission and twice by knockout.

Willis will need to try and stay out of danger on his feet if he wants to win this one. Doumbé was embarrassed with how the last fight ended. He’s hoping that he can be focused on striking and not worried about what may stick in his feet from the mat.

Babene Seeks to Impress Home Crowd

French fighter Gregory Babene is on an eight-fight winning streak. During that stretch, seven of Babene’s eight victories have come by submission. Babene, who also has seven career knockouts under his belt, has proven that he is capable of controlling a fight wherever it ends up going.

Babene is hoping that the home crowd will help push him past Costello Van Steenis. Van Steenis, who is from the Netherlands, has never been finished in his MMA career. The best MMA news sites show that Van Steenis is comfortable on the ground, as he has compiled six submissions and four knockout wins. This will be an interesting middleweight fight.

What Does Aspen Ladd Have Left?

There was a point in the UFC that Aspen Ladd was seen as a potential challenger for Amanda Nunes’ bantamweight title. But one night in July 2019 may have sent her career in a different direction. Ladd got knocked out by former UFC featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie in 16 seconds.

It was the first loss of Ladd’s career. She’s never really been the same since. Ladd has gone 3-3 since losing that fight. Along the way, Ladd took losses to current UFC champion Raquel Pennington and PFL champion Kayla Harrison. Ladd just hasn’t appeared to be a dynamic fighter.

Now, Ladd will serve as a veteran gatekeeper. She will have to fight Ukrainian fighter Ekaterina Shakalova on Friday. Shakalova is 8-1 in her career but doesn’t have much of a resume against top competition. During Shakalova’s first fight in Bellator, she won an unimpressive split decision against Dayana Silva.

This is a must-win for Ladd if she still wants to be taken seriously as a fighter.

Gouti Has Become Regular Fight Fixture in France

Thibault Gouti is a regular fixture in French MMA cards. Bellator has pitted him up against an opponent that will tell each fighter a lot about what to expect from their futures. Gouti is 17-6 in his career and has suffered through the ups and downs that many mixed martial artists go through.

American Archie Colgan is looking to establish his name as a professional fighter. Colgan is undefeated and has won five of his nine victories by knockout. Jumping up to the Bellator stage hasn’t intimidated him. He has won five straight fights in the promotion, including three by knockout.

Colgan will look to force the issue and add another knockout to his resume Gouti has shown a willingness to engage in some fights with a lot of powerful exchanges. This one shouldn’t need the judges according to MMA latest updates.