Darren Till has seen the Jake Paul vs. Cédric Doumbé poster, and he’s not buying a ticket. The former UFC welterweight contender unloaded on Paul in comments Ariel Helwani posted to X on Monday, calling the influencer-turned-boxer a “fat juicehead” and dismissing the Christmas Eve booking in Dubai as a con job. Geo Super and AOL both framed the outburst as Till firing back after being snubbed for the fight.
“Jake Paul, he’s a clear, clear juicehead,” Till said. His bigger beef was the size gap. He pegged Doumbé at 170 pounds and Paul at 220 to 225, then asked whether everybody was going to fall for the matchup just because Paul knows how to sell. “It’s a farce again,” Till said, adding, “We’re all the dickheads who get sold farce fights. It’s a space full of frauds. There’s only a few real men left.”
The fight itself became official earlier that same day. Most Valuable Promotions announced Paul vs. Doumbé for Thursday, Dec. 24 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, billed (and I promise I’m not making this up) as “SANTA VS. THE GRINCH.” Helwani reported it’s set for eight rounds at cruiserweight, with a broadcaster still TBA. Tickets go on sale Sunday, Nov. 15.
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Doumbé is a strange, fascinating opponent. He went 63-7-1 as a kickboxer and won multiple world titles before crossing over to MMA, where he sits at 6-1. He hasn’t competed since an MMA win in May 2024. Helwani said Doumbé quietly stepped away to focus on family and personal matters. His boxing résumé is one fight, a win back in April 2015. Paul hasn’t fought since his bout with Anthony Joshua in December 2025.
Till wasn’t finished after Paul. In a separate clip Helwani shared, Till said his manager called him two or three weeks ago, laughing, to ask if he’d phone John Fury and apologize so a Tommy Fury fight could come together. Till’s answer was no, even hypothetically at $10 million. He then offered what he called an apology, which consisted of calling John Fury a “fat goblin” and Tommy a “shithouse.” So that bridge is ash.
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He also took a swing at Daniel Cormier, calling DC a company man with a bias toward anyone named Magomedov, while admitting he wouldn’t say it to Cormier’s face because Cormier is, in Till’s words, an animal of a fighter. Honest, at least.
My take: Till is the most entertaining unemployed man in combat sports, and he’s half right. A guy Till puts at 220-plus fighting a guy he says walks around at 170 deserves the side-eye, and a Santa vs. Grinch billing sounds like a Hallmark movie that got lost on the way to a Dubai casino. But he’s also the guy who just told a promoter’s dad he’s sorry he’s a goblin, so let’s not pretend he got passed over purely on merit. Paul picks opponents who sell and who make sense for him on paper. Till just reminded everyone he’d sell too. The bell rings Dec. 24, and Till will be watching from his couch.
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