Fighters Only : Losene Keita returns to challenge for featherweight title at Oktagon 50

Simon Head

Oct 17, 2023

Losene Keita is back, and he's ready to challenge for the Oktagon featherweight title once again.

Keita sustained a suspected broken leg in the opening moments of his featherweight title challenge against Mate Sanikidze at Oktagon 45 as he lost his undefeated record in unfortunate circumstances in Stvanice, Prague, in July.

Now, after just a couple of months on the sidelines, Keita is ready to return, and will challenge for the featherweight title once again in the main event of Oktagon 50 in Ostrava, Czech Republic, but this time he'll be taking on a different opponent.

With Sanikidze announcing that he is relinquishing the featherweight belt to move down to 135 pounds, Keita will now take on 10-2 German contender Niko Samsonidse at the Ostravar Arena on December 9.

For Samsonidse, it's an opportunity to capture his first major title as he looks to complete a hat-trick of wins under the Oktagon MMA banner by claiming the vacant featherweight strap.

The 28-year-old Berlin native arrived in Oktagon with a unanimous decision win over Roman Paulus at Oktagon 42, then claimed a first-round submission finish of Nicolae Hantea. Now listed fifth in the Oktagon featherweight rankings, Samsonidse will challenge for the title against arguably the biggest rising star in Oktagon.

Prior to his injury TKO loss to Sanikidze, Keita had been perfect inside the Oktagon cage. The Belgian, known as "Black Panther," joined Oktagon as a 6-0 prospect, then reeled off back-to-back victories over Karol Rysavy and Ronald Paradeiser to earn a shot at lightweight champion Ivan Buchinger.

In a bout that was expected to present him with the toughest test of his career, Keita shone. He needed just three minutes to stop "Buki" and capture the Oktagon 155-pound title.

Not content with his achievements, Keita chased other challenges, and defeated Milan Minci Pales in a striking matchup at Oktagon 38, then dropped to featherweight to hand Samuel Bark only the second defeat of his career.

Keita then captured the interim featherweight crown with a fourth-round TKO of Jakub Tichota at Oktagon 42 to set up his title unification bout with Sanikidse in July. His broken leg, sustained in the opening seconds of the bout, forced him out of his title challenge almost before it had begun, but he still managed to pull himself off the canvas to propose to his girlfriend as the night ended on a positive note for the 25-year-old. Now he gets a second chance to claim the featherweight title as he makes a remarkable return to action before the end of the year.