Nasrat Haqparast credits newfound maturity for win over Munoz

LAS VEGAS – Nasrat Haqparast beat Alexander Munoz with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN+ 32 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Haqparast, who handed Munoz the first loss of his pro career.

Result: Nasrat Haqparast def. Alexander Munoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Updated records: Haqparast (12-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC), Munoz (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stat: Haqparast doubled up on Munonz in the striking department, 81-40.

Haqparast on the fight’s key moment

“It was for sure a very big moment for me personally. I had a lot of pressure and I really just wanted to show my real skill set. In my last fight against Drew Dober, I was immature. I wanted to kill him – my emotions took the best of me. Today, I really got to show my skill set and it’s just the beginning.”

Haqparast on not underestimating his opponent

“Alex was 6-0 and you should not forget he is the wrestling coach of Team Alpha Male. In the octagon, it’s always 0-0. It’s not the guy with the biggest experience against the other one. Sometimes we see big upsets. You should never take anyone lightly just because he doesn’t have UFC fights. It was his debut. He had a lot of pressure. He was trained for years. He was a super athlete and had a good chin. It was a good test for me just to improve my skills, improve my octagon confidence. In my opinion, I have the best team in the world. We can beat everybody with good preparation. It takes time. We will get better and I really think we have the potential to do something great.”

Haqparast on what he wants next

“Now I’ll go back to Germany, take some family time, take some rest because of some injuries, then I’ll go back to training.”

To hear more from Haqparast, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.