That I’m the first dark-skinned champion? It doesn’t matter what color I am. I’m proud of myself, says interim champion Keita

He did it! Losene Keita confirmed that his performance against Karol Rysavy was no fluke and that he is definitely not just a momentary comet. In fact, after a great fight, he defeated Ronald Paradeiser to become the interim lightweight champion. What did he say after his win?

Losene Keita confirmed his role as the favourite on Saturday night, beating Ronald Paradeiser on points in an awesome battle. He proved that he is a very good fighter who deserves a lot of attention.

Keita also became the interim champion of the Octagon and is the first ever dark-skinned champion of the Czechoslovak organization. But he doesn’t consider it a significant and important milestone himself.

“I don’t care if I’m black or white. I wanted to become a champion and I did it. It doesn’t matter what colour my skin is,” said Ivan Buchinger’s closest challenger at the press conference.

In the first round, things did not look good for Keita. The paradeiser wanted to minimize all of his opponent’s strengths and controlled the fight on the ground, threatening with submissions, only to be unsuccessful. From the second round onwards, the new belt holder made sure to keep an eye on it and kept the fight in the stand-up, where he was more accurate.

“It wasn’t the first time I’ve been in that situation. We knew he couldn’t get me to grapple. He couldn’t get me on the choke or the armbar. I’ve wrestled black belt fighters as well, I’ve never been finished on the ground,” Keita was quoted as saying.

The African native is then aware that he did not give his best performance. He says he was sick a week before the fight, which is why he is proud of his performance. He proved to himself and to the fans that he has a great physicality. “Imagine what I could do if I was healthy,” he tells the fans.

And how did Keita actually get into his great shape? In every training session, he does cardio first, then strength training and finally sparring. He says he could do 10 rounds standing up.

So, given how many takedown attempts he has withstood, there has been a lot of speculation about how Ivan Buchinger will be able to face such an opponent. In short, there is a lot to look forward to!

Source: Octagon MMA