UFC 321 has reportedly received a very late addition in the form of a lightweight bout between Nasrat Haqparast and Quillan Salkilld.
Scheduled to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, UFC 321 will see Tom Aspinall officially kick off his tenure as undisputed UFC heavyweight champion when he attempts to defend his belt for the first time against former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane.
UFC gold will also be on the line in the co-main event when Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern meet to crown a new strawweight champion, and the late-notice addition of Haspqarat vs. Salkilld now brings the card to full capacity with 14 fights.
First reported by @mma_ohne_maske, the lightweight contest with Salkilld will see Haqparast try to extend the best winning run he’s put together since joining the UFC in 2017.
READ MORE: Former UFC headliner & TUF finalist included in latest round of UFC roster cuts
Following a unanimous decision loss to Marcin Held in his Octagon debut, Haqparast scored three-straight wins before being knocked out by Drew Dober at UFC 246. He rebounded with back-to-back decisions over Alex Munoz and Rafa Garcia, but high-profile opportunities against Dan Hooker and King Green both saw the 30-year-old come up short on the judges’ scorecards.
Nasrat Haqparast (red gloves) fights Landon Quinones (blue gloves) during UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena. / Jasmin Frank-Imagn Images
A win over John Makdessi in 2022 kicked off what has now turned into a five-fight win streak for Haqparast, and in his last outing in March he took a hard-fought split decision over Esteban Ribovics in a matchup that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
A contract winner on last year’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, Salkilld is currently riding a nine-fight win streak that dates back to his time with Eternal MMA in his native Australia.
READ MORE: Dana White stunned after disgusting spinning elbow knockout at DWCS
Salkilld won the Eternal MMA lightweight belt with a 42-second finish in 2023 and defended it twice before he defeated current UFC lightweight Gauge Young on DWCS to earn a UFC contract. After knocking out Anshul Jubli in 19 seconds in his promotional debut, the 25-year-old most recently took a unanimous decision over Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 in June.
Quillan Salkilld (red gloves) fights Yanal Ashmouz (blue gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The lightweight matchup between Haqparast and Salkilld could be a sleeper contender for “Fight of the Night” at UFC 321, and combat sports fans only have to wait a little over a week until the high-profile card goes down in Abu Dhabi.
• Main Event: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane – For the UFC Heavyweight Championship
• Co-Main Event: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern – For the UFC Strawweight Championship
• Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida
• Aleksandr Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista
• Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo
• Chris Barnett vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab
• Ikram Aliskerov vs. Jun Yong Park
• Jaqueline Amorim vs. Mizuki Inoue
• Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Matheus Camilo
• Mateusz Rebecki vs. Ludovit Klein
• Jose Delgado vs. Nathaniel Wood
• Valter Walker vs. Louie Sutherland
• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Quillan Salkilld
• Brazilian soccer legend asks for photo with UFC star Charles Oliveira after UFC Rio
• Ex-UFC star Dustin Poirier shares heartbreaking admission about MMA retirement
• Massive UFC 322 fight could decide who faces Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev winner
• UFC champion seeks historic win as Dana White announces two title fights for UFC 323
Stick with MMAKnockout for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.
Follow MMAKnockout on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
