Rivalries: Nasrat Haqparast

Nasrat Haqparast looks like a man who has begun to reach his potential in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.

The German-born Moroccan will attempt to break into the Top 10 rankings at 155 pounds when he takes on the once-beaten Esteban Ribovics in a UFC Fight Night 253 showcase this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Haqparast, 29, steps back into the spotlight with the wind of a four-fight winning streak in his sails. The Kelvin Gastelum doppelganger has secured more than half (10) of his 17 career victories by knockout or technical knockout, seven of them inside one round.

As Haqparast closes in on his looming confrontation with Ribovics in Sin City, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Marcin Held

Multiple takedowns, positional control and superiority in the scrambles carried the Polish grappler to a unanimous decision over Haqparast in the featured UFC Fight Night 118 prelim on Oct. 21, 2017 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. Held swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from all three members of the cageside judiciary. A late-notice replacement for the injured Teemu Packalen, Haqparast more than held his own in his Octagon debut. He wobbled Held with a clean left hand inside the first five minutes and withstood repeated submission attempts from the resourceful Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. However, Held spent the last half of the second round and much of the third operating from top position, threatening his counterpart’s legs and forcing his counterpart into a far less desirable ground battle. The setback snapped a career-best eight-fight winning streak for Haqparast.

Joaquim Silva

Haqparast cut down the Evolucao Thai standout with punches in the second round of their UFC on ESPN 5 lightweight attraction on Aug. 3, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Finished for the first time as a pro, Silva succumbed to blows 36 seconds into Round 2. Haqparast was patient and precise throughout a fact-finding first round, where he calibrated his timing and probed for openings. Early in the second round, he stepped forward with a crushing overhand left that sent Silva crashing to the canvas. Haqparast then pounced with punches, unleashing both hands until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough. Afterward, he was awarded a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Dan Hooker

The City Kickboxing star put forth a comprehensive effort when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Haqparast as part of the UFC 266 undercard on Sept. 25, 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Operating in the shadows of the Alexander Volkanovski-Brian Ortega headliner, Hooker carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26. Haqparast struggled and ultimately failed to established a foothold in the match. Hooker controlled the center of the cage, attacked the body with kicks and kept the Tristar Gym export honest with consistent jab and close-quarters knee strikes. The popular Australian action hero incorporated level changes, takedowns and ground-and-pound once fatigue set in, turning in one of his most complete performances to date.

Jared Gordon

Haqparast curried just enough favor to leapfrog the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder, as he was awarded split scorecards in their featured UFC on ABC 6 lightweight prelim on June 22, 2024 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Clemens Werner for Gordon, Mark Collett and Sal D’Amato for Haqparast. It was a contentious verdict. Gordon was the busier of the two combatants, especially in the second round, where he outlanded the Firas Zahabi protégé by a 79-47 margin and racked up considerable control time in the clinch. Haqparast answered with bulletproof takedown defense—he denied all 13 attempts levied against him—and effective counterattacks. By the time it was over, they had combined to land 287 significant strikes one another in what was by all accounts a nip-tuck affair.