Nasrat Khakparast – Arman Tsarukyan. Forecast and announcement for the fight (cancelled)

UFC 257 tournament bout

The first numbered UFC tournament in 2021 will take place in Abu Dhabi (UAE) this Sunday. A nice bonus of UFC 257 will be that the tournament at the Etihad Arena will be able to attend about 2,000 fans.

For most fans, UFC 257 is just a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, but the matchmakers have prepared a pretty good warm-up for the main course.

Another lightweight bout on this card promises to be interesting – a fighter from Germany, Khakparast, will fight a native of Armenia, Tsarukyan.

Hakparast has a 4-1 record in the UFC over the past three years. A year ago at UFC 246, he was knocked out in the second minute of the meeting by Drew Dober, after which in August Hakparast defeated Alexander Munoz by unanimous decision.

Considered a prospect, Tsarukyan fought three times in the UFC. In April 2019, he made his debut with a stubborn defeat on points to Islam Makhachev, in July of that year he won by unanimous decision against Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and a year later, the fight between the Armenian athlete and the titled grappler Davi Ramos ended with the same outcome.

Prediction for the fight

Hakparast came out of kickboxing, so he has good punching skills and knockout power. Tsarukyan is a basic wrestler who has become a real all-round fighter with good footwork and an arsenal of punches.

Tsarukyan looks stronger than his opponent in the main aspects of the fight. On the ground, his advantage is undeniable, and on the stand, due to his versatility and mobility, he can outplay Khakparast. The strong chin of Tsarukyan should deprive Khakparast of a chance to win by knockout, although this cannot be completely ruled out. Probably, Arman will again write down the victory by a unanimous verdict in his resume.

Tsarukyan’s victory on points

Main card

Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier

Michael Chandler – Dan Hooker

Jessica I – Joan Calderwood

Matt Frevola – Ottman Azaitar

Marina Rodriguez – Amanda Ribas

preliminary card

Nasrat Khakparast – Arman Tsarukyan

Brad Tavares – António Carlos Junior

Julianna Peña – Sarah McMann

Khalil Rowntree – Marcin Prahnio

Early preliminary card

Andrew Sanchez – Mahmud Muradov

Movsar Evloev – Nick Lenz

Amir Albazi – Zhalgas Zhumagulov

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