After Saturday’s stunning second-round finish over Ronald Paradeiser in the season two finale of the Tipsport gamechanger, ‘Black Panther’ Losene Keita (15-1) became a two-weight champion in Oktagon MMA and confirmed himself as pound-for-pound number one in the entire organization.
Heading into his twenty-seventh birthday, as the fight progressed past midnight, the current featherweight champion, Keita, was made to work for his second win over the now former lightweight champion, Paradeiser, and at first, it seemed as if it would play out similarly to the first edition. With both fighters swinging big and looking to combine combinations in a chess match of elite striking on the feet, ‘ Rony’ made the first mistake when he shot for a takedown.
Keita was able to capitalize on Paradeiser’s miscalculation, and after a huge left hook landed, he wasted no time and jumped on the defending champion with a ground and pound. Giving referee Marc Goddard no other option but to waive the contest off.
As well as admitting to the error post-fight, ‘Rony’ also confessed he is now struggling to make the lightweight limit, and he had pushed his body to extreme lengths with four fights in nine months. So a move up to welterweight may be next for the former 155lb champion. Still only twenty-seven years of age, the Slovakian has a big fanbase and a good record of 21-9 with 15 wins and 5 losses under the Oktagon MMA banner, so there are still plenty of big fights for him in the rankings.
Oktagon 65: Three Title Fights In One Night – Full Review
What’s Next For The Double Champ?
We look at the potential options at featherweight and at lightweight for Losene Keita…
LIGHTWEIGHT:
Shem Rock (11-1-1) – The Next Generation MMA Liverpool fighter was seen as the face of the UK expansion. After winning on home soil earlier this year in spectacular fashion over Stefano Cattacoli, he followed that up with a big win at Oktagon 58 inside the home of Slavia Prague FC. That win came against Jaroslav Pokorny, with whom he had a long-standing rivalry after their original fight was cancelled in November 2023. Pokorny was withdrawn on fight day after Rock landed a kick to the ribs at the weigh-in. Which allegedly caused enough damage to pull him from the fight despite no physical X-ray evidence.
Rock found mixed martial arts when he went on the run for almost ten years for a crime he didn’t commit. He has since returned to the UK, been arrested, jailed, acquitted, and fought on Europe’s biggest MMA promotion numerous times. His skill set is high calibre, and in his two fights this year, he has dispatched both opponents in the first round. It took just one minute forty-seven seconds to force Cattacoli to tap at Oktagon 56, and three minutes six seconds to put Pokorny out cold six weeks later.
Keita and Rock have had back and forth on social media and would both jump at the chance to step into the cage together. Two great talkers who could sell the fight extremely well, as they both firmly believe they are the best on the Oktagon roster. Keita has had chance to prove that, however, Rock hasn’t. So, could the training partner of UFC stars Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann be the biggest threat to the double champions crown?
They are both seen as two of the hottest talents outside of the world’s premier promotion, the UFC, and they will likely arrive there one day. Both contenders are repeatedly mentioned by fans and media when the question is asked: Who’s next for the UFC? But, before they both do inevitably get there it makes perfect sense for them to create one of the biggest fights possible outside of the ultimate fighting championship and possibly the biggest fight in Oktagon MMA.
Agy Sardari (19-5) – The former Cage Warriors champion gave Keita the toughest fight of his career during this year’s Tipsport game-changer tournament and feels he deserves a rematch with the champion. He says there are holes in his game, and when responding to World In Sport at the Oktagon 65 press conference after his win over Ognjen Dimić, he said, “We have a blueprint for Keita now, and I know exactly what I have to do to beat him next time around. I’ve seen holes in his game that I can exploit so I want a shot at the belt, I know I can beat him.”
Keita responded by saying, “Agy couldn’t even beat me when I had one leg; everybody knows I was carrying an injury in the first fight, so how’s he going to beat me when I’ve got two legs fully operating?”
FEATHERWEIGHT:
Max Holzer (10-0) – The German arrived in the promotion at the start of the year with a win over Englishman Corey Fry at Oktagon 52 in Newcastle. He has added three more wins and is now ranked in the top five. A fight with Holzer, a popular fighter in the organization and a growing fanbase in his home country, could be a good option for Keita.
Mochamed Machaev (15-2) – Building a 13-1 record before arriving at the central European promotion, he has now added to that with wins over UFC veteran Makwan Amirkhani and former Cage Warriors title challenger James Hendin. Ranked at number two in the 145lb division, he would be another good option and a strong challenge for Keita’s featherweight championship.
Is Keita Ready For The UFC Now?
In all honesty, yes, several reports have revealed that he turned a contract down with various other promotions before re-signing with Oktagon in January 2024. The UFC was reportedly one of those organizations, and with the only blemish on his record because of a foot injury, he is still technically unbeaten, which makes him hot property and one of the best upcoming fighters in the world. With his exciting style, ‘Black Panther’ consistently produces those holy sh*t moments that Dana White wants under his banner.
He holds two championship belts and is pound-for-pound number one in the biggest promotion in Europe. Naturally, the world’s biggest promotion will be monitoring his situation closely. When asked at the Oktagon 65 post-fight press conference if he still wishes to ply his trade there and if he has completed what he wanted to achieve under his current promotion, he said “I don’t know yet, let me go home and relax then we will talk about that but for now I’m not done with Oktagon yet!”
Which option would you like to see the double champion take next? Let us know in the comment section!
