Pitbull blasts UFC Paris foe after weight miss cancels fight

One of UFC Paris' most anticipated fights is off.

The featherweight bout between Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Losene Keita was canceled Friday after Keita weighed in at 149 pounds, three pounds over the divisional limit.

The promotion announced the matchup was off due to Keita's "weight management issues."

UFC Paris is scheduled to take place Saturday at Accor Arena. It will proceed with 13 fights, including the main event between middleweight contenders Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho.

Freire ripped into Keita, a former Oktagon MMA two-division champion who was slated to make his UFC debut, after the weight miss. The 38-year-old Brazilian revealed he declined the fight because he didn't want Keita to have an "advantage."

"(Keita) said in an interview he was faster, stronger, younger. ... He had all the advantages and still didn't make weight, so I wouldn't give him that advantage," Freire said in Portuguese in a video posted by the UFC, according to MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz. "At this stage, I don't fight for money anymore, I fight for legacy, and I won't give him that advantage."

Freire added: "If you want to blame anyone, blame my opponent. Black Panther, he's 'Fat Panther.'"

Keita, a 27-year-old Guinean-born Belgian fighter, apologized for missing weight.

"For the first time in 25 fights, I failed to make weight, and it had to happen on my UFC debut," Keita wrote on X. "I wanted to continue and would have given everything to make weight, but my body didn't want it."

Freire told Full Send MMA he wants to return at UFC Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 11 and mentioned Arnold Allen as a potential opponent.

The former Bellator two-division champion was scheduled to make his third Octagon appearance against Keita. Freire debuted in the UFC in April and has gone 1-1 so far.