The last time Nasrat Haqparast came into a fight having won three in a row, he was just 25 years old and had only four UFC bouts under his belt. Despite losing his Octagon debut, he recorded a trio of wins over 13 months including back-to-back performance bonuses, and so, when he faced Drew Dober at UFC 246, he was touted as a name to watch in the lightweight division.
Unfortunately, he suffered a knockout loss to Dober (the all-time knockout leader among lightweights) and split his next four fights. Now 28 and fresh off a first-round knockout over Jamie Mullarkey, Haqparast believes those experiences shaped him into the fighter many pegged him as a handful of years ago.