There was no way Patricio Freire was budging.
Despite the continuous pleading from Losene Keita, whom he was supposed to fight this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 258 in Paris, Freire (37-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was not giving in to accepting a catchweight bout.
Keita (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 11 years younger than Freire, weighed in at 149 pounds – three pounds over the non-title featherweight limit – for his featherweight bout against “Pitbull.” Freire successfully made the mark, weighing-in at 145 pounds at Friday’s official weigh-ins. Due to the miss of the contracted weight, the bout ended up being scrapped.
In a video posted by “Pitbull” on his Instagram account, Keita was seen begging him to accept the fight at a catchweight, and even offering him 50 percent of his purse. “Pitbull” responded by pointing out his lack of professionalism and reminding him he still had an extra hour to get down in weight to save his UFC debut.
You can see their interaction in the video below:
After the ordeal, Keita said he was “devastated” with the weight miss and said he’s never missed in his career, including at featherweight. The former two-division Oktagon MMA champion said he hopes the UFC will give him another chance, and after the event, David Shaw, the promotion’s senior vice president of international operations, said he thinks Keita will get another shot at a future in the UFC. There’s yet to be an official verdict on Keita’s future with the promotion.
