Samsonidse is clear ahead of the duel of a lifetime with Keita: I don’t care that I’m the underdog. The Oktagon title is my dream

Quite unexpectedly, quite early on, however, Niko Samsonidse will get his big chance on December 9. He’s going to fight for the Oktagon title. His opponent, however, will be Losene Keita. One of the most feared and best fighters in the organization. Samsonidse spoke about his opponent and his chances in an interview with Ruiksport.

Losene Keita is coming back from an injury he picked up in his fight with Mat Sanikidze in the summer in Prague. The injury caused him to lose for the first time in his career. Now he’s going to make a big comeback. He’s going to fight for the featherweight title. For the second time. His opponent, surprisingly, will be Niko Samsonidse.

The 28-year-old prospect, who flies the flags of Germany and Georgia, has had two fights in the Oktagon so far. In the first one he dismantled Roman Paulus, in the second one he got to know the qualities of Nicolae Hante. He hasn’t fought anyone from the top of his weight class, which makes his challenge all the greater.

So the fans were surprised to see him in the title fight. “I myself expected it to come one day. But I’m more than happy to fight for the belt this early,” Samsonidse admits in an interview with Ruik.

“I got the offer when I was visiting my family in Georgia. It’s going to be a big challenge for me and it excites me. I didn’t give it any thought, I accepted the match right away,” the man who goes by One Love is clear.

“Every match is a big challenge. Of course, Losene Keita is an excellent athlete. I have all the respect for him, but we’ll see what happens next week,” he added.

Samsonidse wants to fulfil a dream

When Losene Keita was injured in the summer, it was expected that he could be out for a long time. However, he was able to recover faster than expected. It’s worth noting that Niko Samsonidse suffered a similar injury, albeit a much worse version.

While Keita goes into action after four months, Samsonidse has not fought for almost two years. He was even threatened with the end of his career, which he opened up about in an interview before his first fight in the Octagon this spring.

“I’m happy for him. It’s good that his injury wasn’t that serious, that he’s back and can fight. If his return is quick? Only he knows how he feels. It depends on how much he has recovered not only physically but mentally. For example, I felt good in my first fight after the injury, I trusted my leg,” says One Love.

“I only had the iron pulled out of my leg about a year ago. Now I’m happy to be able to do what I love. To win the belt would be special for me. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. Especially after being out for so long,” let Samsonidse be heard.

He sees the title not only as a dream, but also as a kind of satisfaction for all the obstacles he faced. I’m really grateful and now I’m just looking forward to putting on another performance to finish this year in the best possible way.”

Am I an underdog? Don’t care!

Niko Samsonidse will go into his duel with Losene Keita as a fairly big underdog. He’s not widely trusted. Among the experts, among the fans, among the bookies. “I’m not interested. It doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t feel any pressure,” he’s clear.

“I’m confident I can keep up with Keita. My ideal and dream scenario? That I raise my arms above my head and have a belt around my waist. I’m ready for a five-round battle. Conditioning is definitely not something I’m worried about. I’ll be happy to go into deep waters,” Samsonidse notes.

It’s worth noting that One Love met the aforementioned Sanikidze in Georgia. The latter wished Samsonidse good luck, besides he was very happy about the chance his friend would get. And what to expect from the Samsonids vs Keita match? “I expect Keita to go all out because that’s exactly my plan,” the talented fighter concluded the interview.

Source: Ruik, Oktagon MMA