Don’t doubt Losene Keita. That’s the message “The Black Panther” sent with his victory over Muhammad Naimov that kicked off the UFC Paris main card, as well as the post-fight celebration and callout.
Naimov stayed on the outside, looking to get inside on Keita, but he ate a number of early strikes from Keita. Keita worked combinations and busted Naimov open around his right eye.
Keita caught Naimov with a left jab during the round, dropping him and landing a barrage of ground strikes. Naimov survived that flurry and got back up, but a right hand from Keita dropped Naimov out cold for the first-round knockout.
Following the finish, Keita jumped out of the cage and into an empty seat in the crowd’s front row, sitting in it and giving himself an applause.
Keita then used his post-fight interview to call out Lerone Murphy, the No. 3-ranked UFC featherweight, who was sitting in attendance.
Keita rebounds from a loss in his UFC debut against Nathaniel Wood in March. Keita, who is now 17-2 and has won six of his last seven, is the former OKTAGON MMA featherweight and lightweight world champion.
