UFC Paris rocked with cancelled fight just 24 hours before event as debutant pulled from card

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Sep 6, 2025 - 02:27

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UFC Paris rocked with cancelled fight just 24 hours before event as debutant pulled from card

UFC Paris has been hit with a major obstacle just 24 hours before the event is set to take place.

The City of Lights card goes down on Saturday, with a mouthwatering middleweight bout between Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho at the top of the bill.

French warrior Imavov faces Brazil’s Borralho in the main event of UFC Paris

On Friday, every fighter set to feature at UFC Paris hit the scales to make sure they were on weight to compete.

This has resulted in a highly anticipated main card bout being pulled from the card on one day’s notice.

Patricio Pitbull vs Losene Keita at UFC Paris cancelled ‘due to weight management’

Former two-division Oktagon champion Losene Keita was set to make his UFC debut in the opening main card bout of the Paris card against MMA veteran Patricio Pitbull.

Both men were set to meet at featherweight to decide who would break into the top 10 in Dana White‘s promotion.

But the fight has now been pulled from the card.

“Due to weight management issues with Losene Keita, the featherweight bout with Patricio Pitbull has been cancelled,” a statement from the UFC read.

Keita, 27, weighed in at 149lbs on his first attempt Friday morning, which is 3lbs above the featherweight limit for a non-title bout in the UFC.

Fighters usually get a second try to shed the extra pounds required for the bout, or are offered the chance to compete at catchweight if the opponent agrees.

However, it seems the UFC brass has offered no second chance to the Guinean fighter, as the main card bout has now been scrapped.

“It was 9 am when he went to the scale, and he didn’t make weight,” No. 11-ranked UFC featherweight Pitbull told Full Send MMA, in the aftermath of his opponent, ‘The Black Panther’, missing weight.

And his explosive featherweight bout with Pitbull has now been cancelled

“So he was about 149lbs, our division is 145lbs, and the limit the commission chooses is 146lbs…

“I can’t believe it, he’s not professional. I am a professional. He said in interviews, ‘I’m faster, younger, stronger,’ but he can’t make weight.

“If the people want to blame anyone for our fight being cancelled, blame the fat panther.”

The 38-year-old from Brazil then proceeded to call out Briton Arnold Allen for a fight at UFC Rio on October 11.

As a former Bellator two-weight champion, Pitbull made an unsuccessful UFC debut in April, suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314.

He had bounced back with a victory over Dan Ige at UFC 318 in July, and was hoping to cement his status as a top featherweight by defeating Keita.

White’s promotion comes to Paris for just the fourth time on Saturday

UPDATED UFC Paris Main Card + Prelims

Saturday, September 6, Accor Arena

Main card

#2 Nassourdine Imavov (16-4-0) vs. #7 Caio Borralho (17-1-0)
#13 Benoit Saint Denis (14-3-0) vs. #15 Mauricio Ruffy (12-1-0)
Modestas Bukauskas (18-6-0) vs. Paul Craig (17-9-1)
Bolaji Oki (10-2-0) vs. Mason Jones (16-2-0)
Axel Sola (10-0-1) vs. Rhys McKee (14-6-1)

Prelims

William Gomis (14-3-0) vs. Robert Ruchala (11-1-0)
Oumar Sy (11-1-0) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (17-8-0)
#7 Marcin Tybura (27-9-0) vs. Ante Delija (25-6-0)
Harry Hardwick (13-3-1) vs. Kaue Fernandes (10-2-0)
Sam Patterson (13-2-1) vs. Trey Waters (9-1-0)
Brad Tavares (21-10-0) vs. Robert Bryczek (17-6-0)
Andreas Gustafsson (12-2-0) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (23-1-1)
Shauna Bannon (7-1-0) vs. Sam Hughes (10-6-0)

Keita, meanwhile, found his feet and asserted dominance in Czech-Slovak organisation Oktagon by winning 11 of his 12 bouts since his December 2021 debut.

‘The Black Panther’ is on a five-fight winning streak in pro MMA, having suffered just one defeat in his 17 career fights.

His cancelled fight against Pitbull comes just days after another big reshuffle on the card.

British featherweight Harry Hardwick was called up to make his UFC debut on Wednesday to fight Kaue Fernandes, after Fares Ziam withdrew from the card.

Hardwick joined a stacked Paris card, which also features three other MMA stars – Ante Delija, Axel Sola, and Robert Ruchala – making their inaugural UFC appearance.

The event also includes several British and Irish representatives, with Mason Jones, Rhys McKee, Sam Patterson, and Shauna Bannon all fighting on the card.

In what many are deeming an early Fight of the Night contender, Modestas Bukauskas takes on Paul Craig on the main card, too, in a battle of the Brits at light heavyweight.