Losene Keita has revealed that he has turned down offers from the UFC on three separate occasions, as he has spoke of his continuing commitment to European promotion Oktagon MMA.
Belgium’s Keita, who has captured titles for the Czech-Slovak promotion at both featherweight and lightweight, is currently looking to add another honour to his resume as he prepares for Oktagon 59, which takes place in an open-air stadium in Bratislava on July 20.
Keita will take on Serbia’s Predrag Bogdanovic in the quarter-finals of the Tipsport Gamechanger, a €1 million lightweight tournament that has attracted a host of big names from across the continent.
Chatting ahead of the event, Keita revealed that he has been offered the chance to make the jump from the European scene to the global stage with the UFC, but he has declined the offer on each occasion.
“The first time I made that decision it was hard and the second time it was also hard,” he explained.
“The third time, however, it was easy. Oktagon treats their fighters so well and when I was approached by UFC after my last fight I didn’t think twice about saying no.
“I am happy here, the fans love me and I’m one of the main characters here. So the decision this time round was easy.”
Keita has generated plenty of hype and interest through his performances inside the Oktagon cage.
“Black Panther” made his Oktagon debut back in December 2021 with a first-round TKO of Karol Rysavy at Oktagon 29, and followed up three months later with a decision victory over Ronald Paradeiser at Oktagon 31.
That victory put him in pole position to challenge Ivan Buchinger for the Oktagon lightweight title, and a brilliant performance saw him stop the Slovakian MMA icon with strikes in just three minutes at Oktagon 33 to capture the 155-pound crown.
After defeating Milan Pales in a striking-rules matchup at Oktagon 38, Keita dropped down to featherweight to make a run at the 145-pound title, and a third-round stoppage of Samuel Bark earned him a shot at featherweight champ Mate Sanikidze, but after injury ruled the champion out of the bout, he faced Jakub Tiechota in an interim title bout and stopped his man in the fourth round to become a two-division champion.
That set up a bout with the returning Sanikidze at Oktagon 45 but, on a night that Keita had planned to have a double celebration, disaster struck as he suffered a broken leg 68 seconds into the matchup as he title tilt ended almost before it had begun.
It meant that Keita suffered his first career defeat. But, despite his injury and the obvious disappointment of losing out in his title shot, Keita still ended the night on a high by proposing to his fiancee in the cage.
“Listen, this was a very, very hard day and I’m not going to let a hard day ruin all my hard work and my plans to propose!” he grinned.
“On a good or bad day, you have to have a smile on your face and that’s what I had.”
Keita made a remarkable recovery and returned five month later and stopped Niko Samsonidze to capture the 145-pound title at Oktagon 50. Then he teased his possible participation in the lightweight Tipsport Gamechanger tournament.
His first-round matchup was one of the toughest in the tournament, as he drew former Cage Warriors champion Agy Sardari. But, despite facing one of the most dangerous opponents of his career, Keita fought smartly to earn a unanimous decision victory at Oktagon 57.
Now he’s set to face Bogdanovic, with Keita eyeing a spot in the tournament’s final four.
With the level of competition he’s facing, and the scale of the events he’s competing in, Keita said he’s more than happy to be competing under the Oktagon MMA banner.
“It’s not only about the money, I always focus on the fighting and the rest will follow,” he said.
“I’m performing and beating everyone in my path and the money will follow my success.
“Getting all of my achievements on my resume shows that God believes in me and has created something for me.
“I’m getting harder fights now in Oktagon than I will get in UFC in my first year.”
And, while he has already accomplished plenty inside the Oktagon MMA cage, Keita said he’s always looking for new ways to add to his legacy, and hinted that could be a new test coming up for him in the not-too-distant future.
“Let’s be honest, I have completed everything I can right now at Oktagon – at lightweight, at featherweight. I just need to give the fans something extra,” he said.
“I’ve conquered two divisions already. A change might happen around the corner, but for now, I am happy.
“I am one of the best prospects in Europe, yes, if not the best. In terms of how long I have been doing MMA – it is undeniable.
“You can look at my record, look at my highlights, I am certainly one of the best.”
