VIDEO | UFC Paris star Losene Keita pleads with Patricio ‘Pitbull’ to fight at catchweight after botched weight cut

UFC featherweight debutant Losene Keita failed to persuade Patricio ‘Pitbull’ to fight at a catchweight after missing weight ahead of UFC Paris.

UFC Paris was supposed to feature the highly anticipated debut of featherweight Losene Keita on the main card against Bellator legend Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire. But hours before the event, Keita vs. Freire was canceled after Keita missed weight by a significant margin at Friday’s weigh-in.

Keita missed the featherweight limit by three pounds (149 lbs), resulting in the cancellation of the Freire fight. Keita was set to make his UFC debut after a torrid start to his career, featuring a decorated run in Oktagon.

After the weigh-in, Freire didn’t pull verbal punches on Keita, scorching his lack of professionalism in missing weight. Keita issued a public apology to Freire and his fans for the debacle.

VIDEO | Patricio ‘Pitbull’ gives cold-blooded response to Losene Keita’s catchweight proposal

Just minutes after Keita missed weight, he attempted to coax Freire into moving the bout to a catchweight to move forward with the fight. But Keita’s plan didn’t pan out as he expected.

Watch Keita and Freire’s backstage conversation below, as shared by Patricky ‘Pitbull’ on Instagram.

As of this writing, Keita’s place on the UFC roster remains secure, although it’s uncertain when the matchmakers will reschedule his promotional debut. As for what’s next for Freire, he called for a matchup with Arnold Allen on the upcoming UFC Rio card, headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Rafael Fiziev.

Freire was looking to get on a UFC win streak after notching his first promotional win in July at UFC 318 over Dan Ige. He lost his UFC debut to former interim titleholder, Yair Rodriguez at UFC 317.

Keita has won five fights in a row, although he hasn’t competed since a second-round TKO victory at Oktagon 65 last December.