Esteban Ribovics’ next fight is set, and MMA fans should be fired up.
If you saw Noche UFC, you remember Merab Dvalishvili defeating Sean O’Malley to become bantamweight champion. You should also remember Valentina Shevchenko regaining her women’s flyweight title from Alexa Grasso.
Those two fights were for championships. Aside from the championship fights, the most memorable fight on the card was the battle between Ribovics and Daniel Zellhuber.
The two lightweight up-and-comers put on an epic battle at the Sphere, and Ribovics prevailed via split decision. Ribovics and Zellhuber won bonuses for Fight of the Night, UFC President Dana White sung their praises and both men saw their stock rise because of their performances.
Ribovics seems like a fighter on the cusp of getting a shot at a ranked opponent. The UFC and White may have just given him his final hurdle.
According to Tapology’s Marcel Dorff, Ribovics is set to take on tough veteran Nasrat Haqparast on March 1 at UFC Vegas 103.
Ribovics might be moving from one war to the next in this fight, but it is an excellent barometer for him before potentially getting a shot at a ranked opponent.
Ribovics, 28, is 14-1.
His lone loss came in his first fight as a member of the UFC’s main roster. Ribovics earned his spot on the roster after scoring a first-round KO win over Thomas Paull on the Contender Series in 2022.
However, he stumbled against Loik Radzhabov in his main-roster debut, losing by unanimous decision in March 2023. Since then, Ribovics has gone on a three-fight win streak that featured the win over Zellhuber and an insane head-kick KO of Terrance McKinney in May.
Haqparast has been on a tear himself. He’s won four fights in a row, and the winner seems certain to draw a ranked fighter next time out.
UFC Vegas 103 – March 1
- Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape – Flyweight (Main Event)
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Esteban Ribovics – Lightweight
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina – Flyweight
- Lucas Almeida vs. Danny Silva – Featherweight
- William Gomis vs. Hyder Amil – Featherweight
- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson – Welterweight
- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez – Middleweight
Next Up With UFC – UFC Vegas 101 – January 11
Before the March 1 card, the UFC will have six events. The first happens on January 11 at the Apex, headlined by Mackenzie Dern’s rematch with Amanda Ribas. Here is a look at that card:
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas – Strawweight
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris – Welterweight
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. César Almeida – Middleweight
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov – Middleweight
- Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez – Featherweight
- Punahele Soriano vs. Uroš Medić – Welterweight
- Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes – Flyweight
- Marco Túlio vs. Ihor Potieria – Middleweight
- Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden – Lightweight
- Andreas Gustafsson vs. Preston Parsons – Welterweight
- Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Nicolle Caliari – Flyweight
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes – Light Heavyweight
- Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Fatima Kline – Strawweight
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Yanal Ashmouz – Lightweight
