Nasrat Haqparast and Esteban Ribovics meet Saturday on the UFC Fight Night 253 main card at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics UFC Fight Night 253 preview
Haqparast (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) enters this contest running hot on a four-fight winning streak stretching back to 2022. On his current run, Haqparast has picked up decision wins over John Makdessi, Landon Quinones and Jared Gordon, as well as a first-round finish of Jamie Mullarkey. … Ribovics (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will look to extend his winning streak to four. Ribovics picked up a Fight of the Night award in his split decision win over Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 306, which was one of the best fights of the year. Prior to that, he stopped Terrance McKinney in 37 seconds.
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics UFC Fight Night 253 expert pick, prediction
Despite Ribovics turning in both Knockout of the Year and Fight of the Year candidates in 2024, the UFC matchmakers, in all their wisdom, are rewarding the Argentinian with a UFC Apex booking opposite Haqparast, who arguably lost his last fight.
Although I was initially high on Haqparast upon his initial arrival to the promotion, I haven’t been the biggest fan of how his style has progressed. In his defense, Haqparast headhunts less and goes to the body more, but I suspect that bodywork is a two-way street that’s felt more on his end (at least if his last fight with Jared Gordon is any indication).
In fact, Gordon – who trains at Kill Cliff FC alongside Ribovics – was able to find some success from southpaw that his teammate could replicate.
Esteban Ribovics, who faces Nasrat Haqparast at #UFCVegas103, is 0-0 against dedicated UFC-level southpaws.
Ribovics samples in open-stance affairs are small, but he’s shown the ability to fight southpaw (which could be key considering the success his teammate Jared Gordon had): pic.twitter.com/ljcmjEbCcN
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) February 28, 2025
Perhaps my fandom for Ribovics’ style is bleeding into the analysis here, but I suspect that he can pull ahead of Haqparast after a somewhat sketchy start.
The pick is Ribovics by unanimous decision.
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics UFC Fight Night 253 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the fighter from Argentina, listing Ribovics -280 and Haqparast +220 via FanDuel.
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics UFC Fight Night 253 start time, how to watch
Haqparast and Ribovics are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:10 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.
