Featherweight bout falls through as Losene Keita misses weight, UFC Paris fight canceled. A highly anticipated featherweight showdown between Patricio Freire and rising star Losene Keita was abruptly canceled at UFC Paris after Keita failed to make the 145-pound limit.
Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho are all set for their crucial middleweight showdown at UFC Paris, but the card took a big hit. One of the most anticipated fights of the night, Losene Keita vs. Patricio Freire has been scrapped after Keita came in way over the featherweight limit.
Patricio Freire didn’t hold back. In a heated post-weigh-in statement, he labeled his opponent “unprofessional,” criticizing the missed cutoff and calling Keita by the nickname “Fat Panther” a twist on Keita’s “Black Panther” moniker. Freire revealed Keita showed no effort to cut weight and even resorted to eating baby food instead of attempting a second weigh-in before the deadline.
“He said in an interview he was faster, stronger, younger,” Pitbull said in Portuguese. “I gave him all the advantages besides allowing this fight to happen here in Paris. He drove two hours to get here so there was no suffering. His weight was low, he got here at 163 just like I did. … He had all the advantages and still didn’t make weight, so I wouldn’t give him that advantage. At this stage I don’t fight for money anymore, I fight for legacy, and I won’t give him this guy that advantage. Unfortunately the fight won’t happen.”
“I’m absolutely sure he didn’t try going to the bath tub [to cut more],” Pitbull said. “There’s plenty of ways [to try]. He was surrounded by kids. There was no one older to put him in place, ‘Stay there, go make weight.’ At 9 a.m. he weighed in, he was over, and instead of trying until 11 a.m., which is the limit, he was eating baby food. F*ck you, man. If you want to blame anyone, blame my opponent. Black Panther, he’s ‘Fat Panther.’”
“I did my part, but my opponent didn’t do his,” Pitbull posted on X. “I was called on short notice, traveled, dealt with jet lag and made weight. My opponent was at home, had 3 more hours to try and chose not to. I really would like to fight on the UFC Rio card. I’ll face anyone who makes weight.”
Keita later issued a heartfelt apology via social media. “For the first time in 25 fights, I failed to make weight, and it had to happen on my UFC debut… I wanted to continue and would have given everything to make weight, but my body didn’t want it. I sincerely apologize to all my fans. I will be back, like every time I fall in life”
This bout was expected to open the main card and was one of the most compelling matchups on the UFC Paris lineup. Fans were looking forward to witnessing a clash between two former two-division champions. Keita entering as a force from Oktagon MMA and Freire bringing decades of experience as a Bellator legend. With the bout off the card, the UFC Paris card continues, headlined by a middleweight clash between Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. Meanwhile, Freire is pushing for a rebooking, perhaps as soon as UFC Rio in October.
Check the official UFC Paris weigh-in results below.
Main card
Nassourdine Imavov (185) vs. Caio Borralho (185)
Benoit Saint Denis (155) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (156)
Modestas Bukauskas (205) vs. Paul Craig (205)
Bolaji Oki (156) vs. Mason Jones (156)
Axel Sola (170) vs. Rhys McKee (170)
Patricio Pitbull (145) vs. Losene Keita (149)*
Preliminary card
William Gomis (145) vs. Robert Ruchala (146)
Oumar Sy (206) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (206)
Heavyweight Bout: Marcin Tybura (256) vs. Ante Delija (239)
Harry Hardwick (156) vs. Kaue Fernandes (155)
Sam Patterson (170) vs. Trey Waters (171)
Brad Tavares (186) vs. Robert Bryczek (186)
Andreas Gustafsson (171) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (170)
Shauna Bannon (116) vs. Sam Hughes (116)
Keita missed weight. Fight is off.
