NEW YORK (April 22, 2024) – The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced that Bellator Champions Series Paris on Friday, May 17 will now feature Cédric “The Best” Doumbé (5-1) in the co-main event against Derek Anderson (17-4, 1 NC).

A bonafide global phenomenon, Doumbé has also signed an exclusive, multi-year contract extension with PFL and will be making his Bellator debut on the heels of his appearance at PFL Europe Paris earlier this year. “The Best” will be taking on the 12-fight Bellator veteran nicknamed “Barbaric,” a winner in three out of his last four Bellator appearances.

“Re-signing Cedric Doumbe to a multi-year contract extension has been one of our highest priorities since he joined the promotion last year,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said. “Cedric is a large part of our continued growth in France, and now he will compete at Bellator Champions Series Paris on a fight card that can be streamed by fans in the U.S. on Max, as he continues his trajectory through our global leagues.”

Bellator Champions Series Paris streams live in the U.S. on Max, and in France, as well as the U.K. only on DAZN beginning at 5 pm CEST. The following week, truTV will re-air Bellator Champions Series Paris for U.S. viewers, with additional programming details to be shared in the coming weeks. Tickets for the event are on sale now at Accorarena.com.

In the main event of Bellator Champions Series Paris, current Bellator Bantamweight Champion Patchy Mix (19-1) returns to action against Magomed Magomedov (16-1). Mix and Magomedov renew a rivalry that began in 2022 at the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Semi Finals, a tournament Mix went on to win. A previously announced world championship bout pitting Usman Nurmagomedov against Alexander Shabliy has been scrapped from the card due to an injury to Nurmagomedov. The bout will be re-booked in the near future.

In addition to the main and co-main event, France’s Gregory Babene (23-11) will have an opportunity to secure a future Middleweight title shot with a win on May 17 against Holland’s Costello Van Steenis (14-3), and former Olympian and French Heavyweight, Slim Trabelsi (6-0) returns to Paris where he began his career as Francis Ngannou’s training partner. Trabelsi is set to face Scotland’s Louie Sutherland (6-2) at Heavyweight.

The 2024 Bellator Champions Series schedule is as follows:
– Friday, May 17 – Bellator Champions Series Paris – Accor Arena
– Saturday, June 22 – Bellator Champions Series Dublin – 3Arena
– Saturday, September 7 – Bellator Champions Series San Diego – Pechanga Arena
– Saturday, September 14 – Bellator Champions Series London – OVO Wembley
– Saturday, October 12 – Bellator Champions Series Chicago – Wintrust Arena
– Saturday, November 16 – Bellator Champions Series Paris – ADIDAS Arena
– Tuesday, December 31 – Bellator Champions Series – TBD

Completed Bellator Champions Series Paris Main Card:
Max (U.S.) | DAZN (France & U.K.)
Friday, May 17 – 5 pm CEST

Bantamweight World Title Bout: C-Patchy Mix (19-1) vs. Magomed Magomedov (16-1)
Welterweight Co-Main Event Bout: Cédric Doumbé (5-1) vs. Derek Anderson (17-4, 1 NC)
Middleweight Contender’s Bout: Gregory Babene (23-11) vs. Costello van Steenis (14-3)
Featherweight Main Card Bout: Yves Landu (20-9) vs. Jonas Bilharinho (11-2-1)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: Archie Colgan (9-0) vs. Thibault Gouti (17-6)

Preliminary Card:
Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Slim Trabelsi (6-0) vs. Louie Sutherland (6-2)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Mansour Barnaoui (20-6) vs. Yusuke Yachi (26-13)
Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Imamshafi Aliev (9-0) vs. Mike Shipman (15-4)
Women’s Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Aspen Ladd (11-5) vs. Ekaterina Shakalova (8-1)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Asael Adjoudj (7) vs. Bruno Fontes (6-0)

Prior to the Professional Fighters League’s industry shaping acquisition of Bellator in November of 2023, Bellator held 301 events building a recognized worldwide roster of elite talent. In re-imagining Bellator, the PFL will continue the commitment of investing in athletes from underserved regions while continuing to add global stars to the roster.

PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class, the same percentage as UFC. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next- generation viewing experience.

ABOUT PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE
Professional Fighters League (PFL) is a global powerhouse in MMA and the fastest-growing sports league worldwide. PFL has five live fight franchises, offering year-round content: PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. Founded in 2018, PFL is backed by major blue-chip investors including SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures, and numerous NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS team owners. MMA is the growth sports business of this decade, with 650 million fans worldwide, the youngest audience demographic, and true global revenue streams.

ABOUT Max
Max®, which launched May 23, 2023, is an enhanced streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery, delivering unparalleled quality content for everyone in the household. With a personalized user experience that brings unique and unexpected stories ranging from the best of unscripted to the highest quality in scripted programming to live news to sports, Max is the destination for HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, CNN Max, Bleacher Report Sports Add-On, an expansive offering of kids and family content, and best-in-class programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle, and documentaries from leading brands like HGTV, Food Network, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more, all in one place.

ABOUT TNT Sports
TNT Sports is a global leader in the delivery of premium sports content. The TNT Sports U.S. portfolio includes expansive, multi-platform partnerships with the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, National Hockey League, United States Soccer Federation, NASCAR (coming in 2025) and a premier golf franchise in The Match. Owned and operated platforms are highlighted by Bleacher Report, the #1 digital destination for young sports fans, along with House of Highlights, HighlightHER, Golf Digest, and a full suite of digital and social portfolio brands. Additionally, TNT Sports co-manages NBA Digital — comprised of NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE Pass, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com — as well as NCAA.com and NCAA March Madness Live. TNT Sports in Europe and the Republic of Ireland includes partnerships with the NBA, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UFC, WWE and more, as well as much-loved brands Eurosport, Global Cycling Network (GCN), Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) and multi-sport programming and content on discovery+ and Discovery’s free-to-air TV networks.

ABOUT DAZN GROUP 
DAZN is a leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the US and UK.  Its wide range of content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LALIGA, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world – Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC. DAZN is the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match outside North America.

DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment business where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app.

For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit dazngroup.com.