For the last six months, Losene Keita has been sitting at home, itching for the opportunity to step into the Octagon and finally bring the “Black Panther” era in the UFC after experiencing a false start in September.
A heralded signee who had dominated on the European regional scene, the 28-year-old Keita was penciled in for his promotional debut last fall in Paris in a bout against Patricio Pitbull. When he stepped on the scale on Friday morning, Keita came in three pounds over the featherweight limit, and the bout was cancelled—highly anticipated debut becoming a highly publicized miscue.