Losene Keita: I Turned Down an Offer from the UFC Last Year

Losene Keita wants to make a statement in his upcoming assignment against long-term rival Mate Sanikidze.

The interim Oktagon MMA 145-pound champ (11-0, 4-0 Oktagon MMA) is a few days away from his biggest fight of his career to date, a unification bout with lineal titleholder Sanikidze that will headline Oktagon 45 on July 29. The pair were scheduled to meet in April, but a shoulder injury to Sanikidze prevented that clash from happening. Keita has also ruled over the lightweight division since June 2022, when he crushed Ivan Buchinger in the opening frame of their bout. There is bad blood between “Black Panther” and Sanikidze, as Keita believes his opponent avoided him in April. Still, he wants to finish his foe in a dominant fashion and prove to everyone he’s the best in his weight class. Keita feels happy with the way he’s treated by Oktagon MMA, so much so that he refused an Ultimate Fighting Championship offer last year before the promotion’s Paris event last September.

“Oktagon is treating me well, and the money and things like that are very good. They are doing good. Normally, I should have made my UFC debut last year, even after my fight with Buchinger, but I decided to stay longer in Oktagon because of the money. I had a UFC offer to fight in Paris against Fares Ziam. He’s a lightweight from France. I had an offer to fight him, but it was not possible. Also, the UFC tried to contact me this year. Things are going good, you know?”

(00:00) Intro
(00:58) His status as a two-division champion
(02:03) Being used to fight at 170lbs
(03:05) Keeping his record unblemished
(03:46) Training in Belgium
(05:01) Hoping to bring Oktagon to Belgium
(05:58) His Oktagon contract
(06:32) Refusing a UFC offer
(07:02) His motivation to do well
(08:17) The rivalry with Sanikidze
(11:59) Outro