Bellator star Jaleel Willis knows he’s walking into the lion’s den as he heads to Paris for an historic clash at the Accor Arena.

Memphis native Willis hasn’t spent much time outside of America throughout his career, and faces one of the most awkward tests of his life in Cedric Doumbe on May 17 at Bellator Paris. Doumbe is one of the biggest stars in French sport, and brings to the cage with him an aggressive celebrity and fanbase.

The French kickboxer was robbed of a special moment during his latest homecoming over a bizarre incident that caused a TKO stoppage. His PFL clash with Baysangur ‘Baki’ Chamsoudinov was called off due to a splinter landing in his foot, which saw him call for a break in action and the fight stopped.

But he continues moving forward, and faces a brand new type of challenge in Willis. His opponents combined have just two more fights than the American, who is planning to take some of the shine from Doumbe in Paris.

Jaleel Willis vows to torture Cedric Doumbe in mauling performance

Speaking exclusively with Bloody Elbow ahead of the fight, Willis insisted that he is planning on burying Doumbe under intensive ground pressure over the duration of the fight. He has even challenged himself to put in the sort of performance that will force home judges to award him a decision victory.

“He’s good at what he’s good at, but he is a** at what he isn’t good at,” Willis joked. “There was a lot of s*** that I saw in his last fight that made me say ‘bro will not be able to hold a candle to what I bring’, especially when it comes to mixing everything up.

“I feel like it’s going to be hard to deny me a decision, I always come through with a clean sweep. They’re going to find it tough to score for him when he’s on his back and sucking gas for 13 minutes of the fight. Mark my words, for 13 minutes of that fight he’s going to be on his back.

“It’s only going to be one takedown each round, and he’s going to spend 13 minutes on his back.”

Jaleel Willis believes Cedric Doumbe could have fought through controversial splinter

Doumbe’s controversial loss to Chamsoudinov saw fans loudly voice their disdain for referee Marc Goddard both in Paris and around the world after watching on TV. But Willis believes that it was more a sign of Doumbe’s weakness as a competitor than anything else.

“I promise you I wouldn’t have even noticed,” Willis insisted. “I promise you a splinter, a piece of glass, I would not have f***ing notice. I’ve had broken bones and seriously don’t even notice until someone touches it at the end of a fight.

“So how the f*** can a f***ing splinter stop any grown man on God’s green Earth? How the f*** can that happen? I don’t believe it, I’m telling you bro was tired and he needed the time out.”

Jaleel Willis unfazed by French disrespect ahead of Cedric Doumbe fight

Given Doumbe’s star power, he was the recipient of almost all questions last week when Bellator held a media call for international press. Many French outlets ignored Willis entirely, and it is believed that he is just a name being brought in to lose and add excitement to the French scene again.

“They weren’t even asking me questions on that Global Media Call. The only way I could talk was if I jumped in and interrupted him. They think I’m just showing up to take this payday and make a show happen for him, I’m like ‘no way, not by any means’. You better pay attention to the person he’s fighting.

“I understand that he’s exciting here, and you love him there, and he’s a legend here. But y’all need to pay attention to who is in front of him who you’re trying to put down, because this s*** ain’t real and I’m the realest so I’m going to let it be known.

“I don’t really understand it because they have way too much confidence in this man. All I can do is respect it and humbly show up and do my thing and make sure that they see that it was not only a mistake picking me, but it was a bad decision on his part to plan this big-a** homecoming.”

And Willis reckons that he has been avoided in recent months, which hasn’t allowed him to showcase his skills as frequently as he would like. In that regard, he appreciates a prospect such as Doumbe giving him a major opportunity.

“He should have thought a few times before bringing me over there,” he continued. “Because there’s a reason why I’ve been having a hard time trying to get fights. I promise I could start a very good team of prospects with the number of people that have turned me down, they know who they are.

“The whole America vs France thing is funny to me because as far as I can tell bro don’t stand a chance. I’m just like ‘alright, I’ll entertain it, let’s ride’. Y’all think he’s the s***? I’ll play along but I know what’s up and this is hands down going to be the easiest pay day I ever made.”

But he will be channeling his experiences in front of hostile crowds in America, jokingly adding: “The French crowd are pretty rowdy but they haven’t got nothing on a Southern crowd that isn’t too fond on seeing my skin tone!”

Jaleel Willis was already training for Bellator Paris before late-notice callup

Initially, it wasn’t even the fast-talking Willis who was being lined up for Doumbe. Instead, the French fighter was due to take on Derek Anderson who had shown an ability to be caught by a kickboxing expert when he fought Michael ‘Venom’ Page in 2021.

But when Anderson was pulled after suffering an horror leg injury in training, the Memphis native was drafted in. “We knew that I could be an alternate so I was already training,” Willis explained. “When he got hurt I saw the news that morning and then 30 minutes later I got the phone call.

“I’ve got an opportunity to go over and take something that everybody thinks is a big hype. To me it really ain’t that big, it’s no different than if I got the opportunity to fight someone like Jake Paul or something.

“Surprisingly a lot of people don’t even like that man over there and I’m not even really that big of a villain. Motherf***ers are f***ing with me, showing me how to speak French and everything. I know a little something something, don’t ask me to say some s*** but I know how to talk trash to that man.”