UFC's Esteban Ribovics 'a bit bitter' over Nasrat Haqparast loss, sees future rematch
Ribovics (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) came up short in a split decision against Nasrat Haqparast (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 253 in March. Although they won Fight of the Night and each fighter took home an extra $50,000 bonus, the Argentinian is not happy with the whole experience.
'I'm a bit bitter to have lost because losing is never good, but I know I trained hard, and I put on a show,' Ribovics told MMA Junkie in Spanish. 'It could've gone either way. He was maybe a bit superior in the judges' eyes, and you have to accept it. Fighting the decision and being upset at it, I'm not going to solve anything, so head held up high, and I'm going to come back stronger.'
Many online thought Ribovics did enough to get the nod from the judges. Two of the judges gave 29-28 to Haqparast (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and one a 29-28 Ribovics way, resulting in the split decision. Nine out of the 11 media members that submitted scorecards on MMA Decisions saw the fight for Ribovics.
'It was very close,' Ribovics said. 'Maybe he did win. He might've connected with lets shots, but did more damage, so maybe that's what the judges' saw. I had a lot of volume, but they weren't that strong. I just have to learn from it.'
Ribovics, 28, says everything leading up to the fight went basically well. However, he got very heavy after cut to lightweight and felt it during the fight, especially in the first round, which he lost.
'I felt good in the weight cut, but like I told you, the only thing is that I did feel heavy,' Ribovics said. 'With Daniel Zelluber, I stepped in the cage at 177 pounds. For this fight, I bounced back to 185.
'I need to see what happened in the recovery and why I got so heavy. I felt strong, but very heavy. It was only in the second round where I woke up, and I was able to get moving. So that was my only issue, I felt heavy.'
Ribovics hopes to stay active and is already back in training. He hopes to return in June or July.
As far as Haqparast, Ribovics wishes him well and believes he'll meet him again in the near future.
'I know this is not the only fight we'll have,' Ribovics said. 'We'll meet each other again. Nasrat, I'll see you soon, very soon.'
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