Nasrat Haqparast (born August 22, 1995) is a German

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

(MMA) who currently competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

division in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Haqparast was born in Germany to

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

parents from

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

who came as refugees from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. He attended kickboxing classes as his parents believed he was overweight at fourteen years old. Subsequently, Haqparast joined an MMA class and decided to be an MMA fighter after witnessing a sparring session in the room next to the kickboxing class.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Haqparast started his professional MMA career in 2012 and amassed a record of 8-1 before being signed by UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Haqparast made his UFC debut on October 21, 2017 against

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

, replacing injured

Teemu Packalén Teemu Packalén (born May 22, 1987) is a retired Finnish mixed martial artist. He was the Amateur Champion of Finland and the Finnish Open Championship winner in 2010. Packalén competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champi ...

at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Haqparast was scheduled to face Alex Reyes on March 17, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov. However, on March 8, it was reported that Alex Reyes pulled out of the fight due to injury and he was replaced by Nad Narimani. The bout was scrapped on the day of the event as Haqparast was deemed unfit to fight by the medical team due to an infectious eye condition. His next fight came on July 22, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 134 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 134'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2018, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background The event was ...

against Marc Diakiese. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Haqparast faced

Thibault Gouti Thibault Gouti (born February 27, 1987) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2011, he has also competed in the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Gouti was amas ...

on October 27, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 138 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 138'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on October 27, 2018 at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Haqparast was expected to face

John Makdessi John Makdessi (born May 3, 1985) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, 1985, ...

on March 23, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 148 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 148'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 23, 2019 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville ...

. However, on March 13, 2019, it was reported that Haqparast was pulled from the bout due to injury. Haqparast faced on August 3, 2019 Joaquim Silva on

UFC on ESPN 5 ''UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 3, 2019, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background T ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. The win earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

bonus award. Haqparast faced

Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bella ...

on January 18, 2020 at

UFC 246 ''UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Haqparast faced Alexander Muñoz on August 8, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Haqparast was scheduled to face

Arman Tsarukyan Arman Nairovich Tsarukyan (; born October 11, 1996) is a Georgia-born Armenian and Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, ...

on January 24, 2021 at

UFC 257 ''UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 24, 2021 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background Starting with ...

. However, on the day of the weigh-ins, Haqparast pulled out of the fight citing illness. Haqparast was scheduled to face Don Madge, replacing injured Guram Kutateladze, on March 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 187 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, Madge withdrew from the bout due to visa issues and was replaced by UFC newcomer Rafa García. Haqparast won the fight via unanimous decision. Haqparast faced

Dan Hooker Daniel Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and WKBF ...

on September 25, 2021 at

UFC 266 ''UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 25, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Haqparast faced

Bobby Green Bobby Green (born September 9, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, Green is the former King ...

on February 12, 2022 at

UFC 271 ''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Middleweight Champi ...

. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Haqparast faced

on September 3, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Haqparast was scheduled to face

Jamie Mullarkey Jamie Mullarkey (born 17 August 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Mullarkey grew up in Central Coast area, attending Erina High School. He beg ...

February 12, 2023, at UFC 284. However, Haqparast withdrew due to undisclosed reason and was replaced by promotional newcomer Francisco Prado.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) **

(One time)

Personal life

Haqparast was a mechanical engineering student at

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (German: Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg) is a higher education and applied research institution located in Hamburg, Germany. Formerly known as ''Fachhochschule Hamburg,'' the ''Hamburg U ...

. When Haqparast made his UFC debut he was dubbed by several media members as a "mini" version of middleweight fighter

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

due to their close physical resemblance. This has resulted in many media outlets comparing their fighting styles often. Haqparast's mother passed away in September 2021, which was weeks prior to his fight at UFC 266.

Mixed martial arts record

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Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

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