Losene Keita says he took Lerone Murphy's UFC doubts personally before Aaron Pico fight

The featherweight, who meets Pico at UFC 333 on Saturday, says he will beat whoever is put in front of him before he gets the Manchester fighter.

By Darren Murray · Published Wed 21 Oct, 21:12 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Losene Keita beside a whiteboard reading 'Who is he to tell me I'm not good enough?' — Original graphic: Combat Sports UK

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Losene Keita says he has taken it personally that Lerone Murphy told him he would not make it in the UFC, and wants to prove the Manchester featherweight wrong once he gets past Aaron Pico at UFC 333 on Saturday.

Asked at UFC 333 media day whether he would call Murphy out again with a win, Keita told MMA Fighting he would be glad to face Murphy, even as his opponent on Saturday. "He say, I'm not going to be a UFC fighter, I'm not going to win in UFC, and something like that. And I take that personally, to be honest," he said. "Who is he to tell me I'm not good enough? Who is he? ... So I really want to show the guy I'm good enough."

Keita said he would beat whoever is put in front of him first. "Whoever they put in front of me, I'm going to beat him all before I get Murphy, and I'm going to beat Murphy also, and nobody's going to stop me," he said.

He also brushed off talk about Pico's chin. "I see a lot of chin allegations on social media about him, but that don't concern me," Keita said. "Every time I throw a shot, it's to hurt him. So I don't really care how he's going to end. The only thing I know, I'm going to beat him. I think I'm a better martial artist than him, and it's my time."

Keita meets Pico at UFC 333 on Saturday, where Alexander Volkanovski defends the featherweight title against Movsar Evloev in the main event. Full UK timings are on our UFC 333 UK start time page.

In this story

Losene Keita Lerone Murphy Aaron Pico Movsar Evloev