Looks like Nasrat Haqparast finally has a fight.
After two canceled bouts that have delayed his return to the octagon in 2023, Haqparast is targeted to fight Landon Quinones on Sept. 9 at UFC 293 in Sydney. The fight will be contested at 155 pounds.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Wednesday, including Oren Hodak of KO Reps, who manages Quinones.
Haqparast (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) last fought in September 2022, when he defeated veteran John Makdessi in a unanimous decision. Prior to that, he had suffered decision losses to Dan Hooker and Bobby Green. Haqparast was scheduled to compete this past February and on Sept. 2, but both bouts were scrapped after his opponents withdrew.
Quinones (7-1-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will be making his promotional debut at UFC 293. He’s currently on a five-fight wining streak officially. However, he is coming off competing on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he competed for Team Chandler. There, he suffered a submission loss to Jason Knight in the opening round of the tournament.
Below is the updated card for UFC 293:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland
Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov
Felipe dos Santos vs. Manel Kape
Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa
Tyson Pedro vs. Anton Turkalj
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN News, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
Da Woon Jung vs. Carlos Ulberg
Jack Jenkins vs. Chepe Mariscal
John Makdessi vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Landon Quinones
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN News, ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Blood Diamond vs. Charlie Radtke
Gabriel Miranda vs. Shane Young
Viviane Araujo vs. Casey O’Neill
More UFC!
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DWCS 59 winner Luis Pajuelo aspires to have future showdowns with Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski
UFC 292 winner Mario Bautista unsure he’d take risk of fighting short-notice opponent again
Cody Garbrandt happy for Sean O’Malley to win UFC title but says ‘holes are going to be exposed’
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.