Nasrat Haqparast Notches Fifth Straight UFC Victory With Narrow Split Decision
UFC Vegas 103 treated fans to a high-level Lightweight clash between Afghan contender Nasrat Haqparast and Argentine cardio machine Esteban Ribovics. Haqparast emerged with the victory by split decision, after a relentless and competitive war that could well be in line for Fight of the Night.
Both men exhibited excellent hand speed and footwork in the first frame, trading straight punches. Ribovics’ trademark striking volume was on display early and never let up, as he threw a staggering 436 strikes over 3 rounds. Haqparast was very defensively responsible throughout. He kept his hands high and weathered the onslaught, finding a home for numerous heavy straight left hands. By the end of the round, those punches had busted Ribovics’ lip. Nasrat Haqparast also found a home for a few hard liver kicks. The script they established in this round would largely hold, a battle between efficiency and landing the harder shots, and sheer overwhelming volume.
The second round saw Ribovics somehow increasing his already high pace. He pressed forward immediately, throwing one-two’s and hard kicks to the body and legs. Haqparast continued to find the cleaner and more impactful shots, primarily with the power left hand up top. He also mixed in plenty of work to the body, which seemed to be effective at keeping the head available. Ribovics started to exhibit a serious sense of urgency here, throwing in 3’s and 4’s, but Nasrat Haqparast partially or entirely blocked a majority of that assault. By the end of the round, Ribovics had a good deal of blood around the mouth from the busted lip.
In the corner between rounds, Esteban Ribovics was urged to pour it on. He heeded that advice, not slowing down at all. His punches started to find the cracks in the defense a bit more often, with Nasrat Haqparast beginning to marginally slow. He then connected with a huge knee. A huge cut formed as a result. However, Haqparast continued to hang tough as Ribovics started to find a home for jabs and elbows to worsen the damage. Understandably, Haqparast shot for a takedown which he managed to land. It didn’t result in much besides a bit of control. However, it was perhaps useful to buy time and stem the tide. Upon standing, both men traded punches at a breakneck pace. Ribovics punctuated the strong round with a clean head kick near the bell.
Haqparast Wades Through the Fire and Emerges Victorious
Judges awarded Haqparast the victory by split decision. He was able to do enough in rounds 1 and 2 with his efficiency and power punching to snag the rounds on 2 of 3 scorecards. All three judges gave the 3rd to Ribovics who came on very strong later in the fight.
This is the type of entertaining war where neither fighter truly loses. In terms of their stock moving forward, the UFC must be excited to book matches for each man. Nasrat Haqparast notched his 5th consecutive victory in the UFC. The Lightweight division is incredibly competitive, but after this gritty win he may be knocking on the door of the rankings. Ribovics should have more main cards in his future as well. His mind-numbing pace makes any fight a guaranteed delight for fans. While he may have lost on his record, he certainly gained in reputation. The future is very bright for both fighters in the UFC’s most stacked division.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
