Afghan-German mixed martial artist Nasrat Haqparast, 23, of Hamburg, Germany will face a Lebanese-Canadian opponent at “UFC Fight Night 148,” which is also called “UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 6.” It marks the third bout of the former in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Headlined by Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, 35, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, USA and Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, 32, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, “UFC Fight Night 148” will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, United States on March 23, 2019. One of the matches on the undercard is a lightweight bout between Haqparast and John “The Bull” Makdessi, 33, of Quebec, Canada.

Haqparast has been competing professionally since December 15, 2012. On October 21, 2017, he made his UFC debut at “UFC Fight Night 118” at the Ergo Arena in  Gdańsk, Poland where he lost to Marcin “The Polish Prodigy” Held, 27, of Tychy, Poland via unanimous decision.

On July 22, 2018, Haqparast earned his first UFC win. He defeated Marc “Bonecrusher” Diakiese, 25, of Doncaster, England via unanimous decision at “UFC Fight Night 134” at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

On October 27, 2018, Haqparast earned yet another unanimous decision victory in the UFC. He defeated Thibault “GT” Gouti, 31, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA at “UFC Fight Night 138” at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

The lightweight bout between Haqparast and Gouti was declared the Fight of the Night. Each of them received $50,000 bonus.

While studying Mechanical Engineering at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Haqparast is training out of Tristar Gym in Montreal, Quebec. He was born in Hamburg on August 22, 1995 to Afghan parents.

When Haqparast was 14 years old, his parents sent him to a kickboxing class to help him lose weight. However, he decided to join the MMA class instead.

Currently, Haqparast holds a professional MMA record of 10 wins and 2 losses. On the other hand, Makdessi has 16 wins and 6 losses.

Both Haqparast and Makdessi are coming out of a two-bout winning streak. The latter has been competing professionally since 2008.

Makdessi ws born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Lebanese parents. He was an undefeated fighter when he joined the UFC in 2010 and went on to win 9 out of his 15 bouts in the promotion.

Meanwhile, here is a post-fight interview with Haqparast after his most recent UFC bout: