"Trash-talk is very important for me," says 'Cedric McGregor' Doumbé

Cedric Doumbé thinks Harut Grigorian would make a good test for his next title defense.

The welterweight champion retained his belt on Saturday night with an astonishingly accomplished display against Yoann Kongolo and now finds himself in the position of holding wins over the top three fighters in the division.

Grigorian sits just behind Murthel Groenhart, Nieky Holzken and Yoann Kongolo in the rankings and, as he also won at Saturday's GLORY 39 BRUSSELS event, Doumbé things it might be time to give him a shot.

“I beat Murthel, Nieky, Kongolo... I am a little tired, maybe I will take a rest,” he joked in his post-fight interview.

“But who can be next? Why not Harut? Sure. I like Harut, he is my friend, but we are fighters so if we have to fight we have to fight. He is just behind those other three guys, so why not?”

Saturday's performance against Kongolo was one of the most incredible performances a fighter has staged in the GLORY ring, with Doumbé playing matador against Kongolo's forward pressure and using his superb reflexes to avoid damage while landing his own shots.

“I have great reflexes, I am faster than him, I can see every punch or kick before he throws it. I cannot explain it. I was born like that, I didn't learn that,” he says.

His win owed a lot to his baiting of Kongolo in the weeks leading up to the fight. Kongolo, who holds two prior wins over Doumbé, was angry well before he entered the ring and his heightened emotional state made him more predictable.

“Trash talk for me is very important. First, it takes away my stress, that's how I relieve my stress. Second it's very important [psychologically]. Not with every opponent, but with a street-fighter type of opponent its good, Murthel and Kongolo are good customers for it.”

By combining outrageous trash-talk, complete confidence and a near-perfect performance, Doumbé has found himself being likened to UFC star Conor McGregor and labelled “kickboxing's Cedric McGregor”.

“I like when people compare me to Conor McGregor because he is a great champion, he is very famous and he has a lot of money, so that's a good comparison for me. But I think they should compare him to me – better for him!”

GLORY's next event is GLORY 40 COPENHAGEN on Saturday, April 29 at the Forum Copenhagen in the capital city of Denmark. The card is headlined by middleweight champion Jason Wilnis in a rematch with former champion Simon Marcus and also features local standout Niclas Larsen.