Bellator Paris video: Cedric Doumbe demolishes Jaleel Willis in first round, faces off with Anthony Pettis

Cédric Doumbé didn’t let splinters get in his way this time.

After walking out with a vacuum to clear up any potential debris, Doumbé ignited a raucous crowd at Accor Arena with a first-round knockout of Jaleel Willis on Friday in the 175-pound co-main event of Bellator Paris.

The win puts the French sensation back on track following a controversial outing against Baissangour Chamsoudinov in March that saw Doumbé suffer the first loss of his professional MMA career when debris embedded itself in his left foot and referee Marc Goddard stopped the bout midway through a competitive third round.

After his bounce-back win, Doumbé (6-1) and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis faced off in the cage, with Pettis calling to face Doumbé at a Paris event.

“Fighting me in another country, that’s murder, that’s insane. But fighting me in Paris? This guy is crazy,” Doumbé said after leading the crowd on a call-and-response against Pettis.

Doumbé, 31, made it look easy against Willis (16-6), knocking down the former LFA champion and seven-time Bellator veteran with a right hand early in opening round before dropping him again with another picture-perfect right hook several minutes later and swarming with punches for the finish. The official time of the stoppage was 3:33 of Round 1.

Watch footage of Doumbé’s handiwork below.

Willis has now lost back-to-back bouts via first-round knockouts.

Check out complete Bellator Paris results here.