Losene Keita was in prison 10 years ago – now he’s finally making UFC debut after failed first attempt

Losene Keita began his martial arts journey following six months in prison.

Now, the 28-year-old from Kortrijk, Belgium, is making his highly anticipated UFC debut with a near-perfect 16-1 professional record.

Oktagon MMA

‘The Black Panther’ faces Englishman Nathaniel Wood at UFC London on Saturday, having failed at his first attempt to debut with Dana White‘s promotion.

Keita missed weight by 3lbs for his bout with Patricio Pitbull at UFC Paris in September, and, after unsuccessfully offering the Brazilian his purse to make the fight happen at catchweight, he was sent packing.

However, Keita was offered a rare second chance by the UFC top brass, and he plans on making the most of it this weekend in the English capital.

Prison was catalyst for Keita’s UFC debut

Speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of his featherweight clash against Wood, the new UFC fighter revealed how his journey to MMA’s summit started.

“I started from prison first. When I came from prison, I was fighting on the street.” Keita explained.

“I lived in a neighbourhood where there were a lot of multicultural people, so there was a lot of fighting going on there and I was one of the guys who always fought.

“When I was free, I continued fighting until a friend of mine doing MMA was like, ‘Try this, leave the fighting on the street alone and come to the gym.’

“I was like, ‘Nah, why should I do that? Fighting isn’t big; nobody knows fighting [in Belgium].

“At the time, fighting was not that popular. MMA was not that popular in my area.

“Even my parents didn’t know anything about MMA and I originally said it wasn’t something for me.

Oktagon MMA

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“My friend forced me a little bit, so I went… I fell in love with the sport since then and, after two months of training, I had my first fight.”

Rise of ‘The Black Panther’

Keita quickly built up a 6-0 pro record before joining Oktagon—Europe’s $300 million promotion—in 2021.

He won the interim lightweight title in his second Oktagon fight and converted it to an undisputed belt by defeating Conor McGregor‘s former foe Ivan Buchinger

Keita won his next two fights, including a Muay Thai-only bout, before moving down a division to claim the interim featherweight strap.

However, on his first attempt to hold his second undisputed title under the Oktagon banner, Keita was unsuccessful, breaking his leg against Mate Sanikidze to taste the first loss of his career.

But just like when he was released from prison 10 years ago, Keita overcame adversity and won the undisputed Oktagon featherweight title upon his return five months later.

Oktagon MMA

Oktagon MMA

‘The Black Panther’ then moved back up to lightweight, winning three on the bounce before reclaiming his throne at 155lbs by defeating Ronald Paradeiser in December 2024 — his last fight to date.

Keita was offered fights in Abu Dhabi and Brazil for his UFC debut, but was called up on short notice to feature at UFC Paris after a late cancellation.

He was especially drawn to Paris, as the French capital feels ‘like a home’ and isn’t far from his residence in Belgium.

Keita said he did everything he could to make weight for the Pitbull clash, admitting something went wrong with ‘water loading.’

He added that UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell was ‘mad’ about his weight miss, but claims, unlike those on social media, he was never going to get cut.

Keita’s failure to make weight has led to severe criticism from the MMA world, including opponent Wood, who described him as a ‘weight bully’ in a conversation with talkSPORT.com.

Keita, however, says he doesn’t cut a lot of weight and will weigh a maximum of 74kg (163lbs) when he trades blows with Wood in their 145lb fight.

Wood also believes he shouldn’t even be in the Octagon with Keita come Saturday, but rather a top-15-ranked UFC opponent instead.

Keita: I am top 15 worthy

“He deserves to fight somebody in the top 15,” Keita responded when questioned on Wood’s comments.

“But saying, ‘I need to fight somebody better than Keita in the top 15’?

“He can be in the top 15 and still fight me, because my first opponent [Pitbull] was number 11.

“So he could be in the top 15 and still get me. So I don’t think it’s necessary to say,, ‘I deserve somebody better than Keita.’

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“Normally, he shouldn’t be that stupid. Beating Keita is also beating somebody from the top 15.

“Beating me is like beating somebody from the top 15… I would say, ‘Beating Keita is higher than beating [No. 15-ranked featherweight] David Onama.

“So if you think like that, that’s his problem. First of all, I don’t know what the f*** he’s saying.

“Because I know I’m going to beat him, that’s the thing. After that, he can try his top 15.”

The Belgian is not feeling any pressure ahead of UFC London due to his ‘new guy’ status.

He said he’s not going in there to try and knock out Wood, but simply just beat him.

Keita also said he would be open to a super-fight at lightweight in the future, naming Michael Chandler as a suitable opponent.

UFC Schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s UFC schedule.