Losene Keita asked, received, and now he has a big test in front of him.
The OKTAGON standout told MMA Junkie in July he thought it was time to join the UFC, and the promotion agrees. Keita (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will battle Bellator legend Patricio Freire (37-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a three-round featherweight bout Sept. 6 at UFC Fight Night 258. The event takes place at Accor Arena.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following a report from Maitres Fumieres on Instagram.
Keita, 27, held both the OKTAGON featherweight and lightweight titles during his 11-fight tenure with the promotion. He has 10 knockouts in 16 professional wins, and his lone loss was due to injury.
“It’s time,” Keita said. “Let’s make featherweight great again. I can do both weights actually. I even fought in welterweight before. I fought in lightweight, featherweight. Let’s just make fun. Let me knock out people on the biggest platform.”
Freire, 38, picked up his first UFC win in July when he defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision. The win came after an unsuccessful promotional debut vs. Yair Rodriguez.
The victory was a long-time coming for the 45-fight pro, who spent the majority of his career fighting under the Bellator banner, rewriting the promotion’s history book.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 258 lineup includes:
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho
- Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy
- Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija
- Ante Delija vs. Marcin Tybura
- Robert Bryczek vs. Brad Tavares
- Mason Jones vs. Bolaji Oki
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Andreas Gustafsson
- Brendson Ribeiro vs. Oumar Sy
- Shauna Bannon vs. Sam Hughes
- William Gomis vs. Robert Ruchala
- Kaue Fernandes vs. Fares Ziam
- Sam Patterson vs. Trey Waters
