Nasrat Haqparast: Lightweight’s Brightest Prospect

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From the outset of his UFC career, Nasdaq ‘Dat Haqsaw’ Haqparastelum looked like a fighter destined for big things in MMA. Some of this was due to his prodigious pedigree, coming from Tri-Star, but packing the firepower and aesthetics of a Cordeiro product. Throughout his regional career, he netted eight consecutive KOs before earning his shot in the big league against the perennial underachieving (yet quite experienced) Marcin Held. Haqparast was expected to lose quite handily, but instead of simply being taken down and tapped, he tooled the Polish native on the feet, dropped him, and lost a contentious decision by being held(!) down. Despite not getting the nod, the trajectory of the two fighters couldn’t have looked more different. From there, he’s dominated or dusted everyone he’s faced. The scary thing is how complete Haqparast’s game is, despite his age and relative inexperience. 

This is another roadblock for the German prospect, and a far more significant one than anything he has faced thus far. Dober isn’t elite, but he is a willing southpaw puncher who is comfortable in exchanges. Those few characteristics alone make this a thrilling contest. As the betting favorite, a lot of the stakes here are dependent less on outcome, and more on method for Haqparast. 

The Better Gastelum

Nasrat Haqparast came to the UFC resembling middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, but at this point in time, such a comparison is insulting to the German. The broad strokes of their games are similar, in terms of being powerful southpaw boxers who lean heavily on the rear hand. However, Haqparast has shown a much deeper offensive arsenal, more defensive awareness, and a threatening, if nascent, understanding of frames and positioning in the clinch. Nasrat’s ability to float in and out of boxing range, move laterally, and then quickly counter opponents coming in means that he is surprisingly difficult to set a distance against.

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>Held rushes in with a marching 2-1 combination, and Nasrat counters with a rear hand left hook. 

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>Haqparast steps to the outside as Held steps in. Nasrat plays with the rhythm of his combination, throwing out a second feinted jab a half beat behind the first and dropping Held with the rear hand. Notice that Haqparast’s combination totally intercepts Held’s step-in. 

Part of the reason Haqparast’s southpaw game works so well is because he’s naturally hands-on with his opponents. The double forearm guard is more than just a shell for Nasrat; he can block, deflect, and catch incoming punches. He’s good at parrying orthodox jabs, dragging an opponent’s hand down, and setting hand traps. While we haven’t seen many extended clinching exchanges from the German, he has demonstrated a solid understanding of collar tie conversions and framing in tie ups.   

Haqparast’s early showings revealed a knack for lever punching off his lead and rear hand, doubling, tripling, and even quadrupling up punches. In boxing, these kinds of exchanges are great for playing with an opponent’s expectations, because you are no longer throwing back-and-forth combinations between the two hands. When two consecutive punches from the same hand are incoming, they can be more difficult to read and anticipate. If a boxer is able to change up the targets of a lever to the body, this can open up an opponent’s comfort entirely. 

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>Diakiese was looking to land his overhand right against Haqparast by setting it up with a lead left hook the body and coming over the top. When Diakiese enters with a left hook, he takes a long step with his lead leg to the outside, but Haqparast stifles the angle by a slight step to the outside with own lead leg (denying Diakiese the outside angle) and countering with a simultaneous overhand left. With Diakiese’s posture broken in the pocket, Haqparast swarms with two left uppercuts followed by three lead right hooks into another overhand left. When Diakiese grabs the clinch for a moment to breathe, Haqparast grabs a collar tie with his right arm and an underhook with his left up, jutting his head underneath Marc’s chin. All of his weight in on Diakiese, and he’s in a perfect position to nail his body with some knees. 

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>Silva throws a lead leg switch kick to the body, but Haqparast draws his lead hand down and catches the kick. As Silva attempts to turn his hips away for Haqparast and slide his leg out, Haqparast now has a dominant angle on Silva. The first straight left misses, but the follow-up 2-3 lands before Nasrat quarter pivots off his lead leg.

While he’s not the deepest defensive fighter, he has a much better sense of slipping and blocking punches than his middleweight counterpart. As I previously mentioned, Nasrat’s double forearm guard is active enough to deflect jabs and he also folds over his hips nicely to slip. 

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>Diakiese feints the 1 and throws the 2. Haq catches the jab feint with his lead hand, and folds over his rear hip to evade the straight before pitching an overhand left back at Diakiese, grabbing a collar tie with his right hand, and throwing another left uppercut. 

His most recent bout against Joaquim Silva demonstrated a patient approach, and a better ability to draw reactions. An increase in feinting and a more measured start lead to Haqparast earning some early success without giving too much. 

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>Haqparast feints a rear hand straight, and pressures behind it. He then throws out a rear leg teep. Silva attempts to block the kick and counter over the top with a right hook, but Haqparast posts with his lead hand on Silva’s shoulder and retreats. 

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>Once again illustrating his comfort in the open stance matchup, Nasrat slaps at Silva’s lead hand and holds his guard high. As soon as Silva grabs at Nasrat’s lead wrist and steps in, Haqparast retreats, shorting Silva’s rear hand straight. 

If there is an element of Haqparast’s game I’d like to see him develop more, it’s his lead hand jab. Haqparastelum’s rear hand is incredibly dextrous and powerful, but his jab (while sharp and accurate) isn’t as active as it needs to be. Dober looked somewhat uncomfortable fighting against a southpaw jab when Beneil Dariush began countering with it. 

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>Here is an example of just how crafty Haqparast can be. A lead hand uppercut catches Diakiese unaware, and the follow-up left lands a full beat behind. As Diakiese is retreating into the fence, Nasrat is already pulling Diakiese’s lead arm down with his free hand. 

Haqparast looks like a fighter poised to thrive over five rounds. Beyond the potency and craft that he displays, he is also a fighter who prefers to take a few minutes to get a read on an opponent before opening up his offense. Nasrat is a terrific finisher with knockout power and pushes a torrid pace, and I can only imagine these qualities would be magnified over five rounds. It isn’t difficult to look at the Diakiese and Gouti fights and assume that, with ten more minutes to work, Haqparast would’ve been able to put both men away in stunning fashion. 

Haqparast is at his worst off the backfoot when he’s exiting exchanges. He still has a tendency to shuffle backwards and exit in straight lines, instead of angling out or pivoting to conclude exchanges. No one has really been able to exploit this yet, but if Haqparast is going to continue rising in the ranks at lightweight, punchers like Dustin Poirier will exploit that opening. Nonetheless, a matchup like that is still a ways away. 

Conclusion

No surprises here. Dober is tough and game, but he doesn’t have the counterpunching or power to consistently pick Nasrat off. A committed assault to the body would be useful, but even then, he’ll need to be playing an in-out game against a faster, more efficient in-out fighter. The key for Haqparast here is in the distance hitting. Nasrat has shown a higher propensity for long-range straight shots, and his combination entries should be able to stun Dober with sheer speed. This should be a terrific bout, but the younger, more threatening prospect is a deserved favorite. 

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