UFC Fight Night 118 results: Marcin Held tops Nasrat Haqparast for 1st UFC win

After four tries, Marcin Held has his first UFC win.

Not surprisingly, it was Held’s (23-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) ground game that carried him when the going got tough against newcomer Nasrat Haqparast (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Despite getting knocked down in the second, Held won via unanimous decision.

The lightweight bout closed the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 118 event at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

The final scores were 30-27 for Held, a surprising tally considering Haqparast’s performance in the first and second rounds. On the feet, the bouncy Haqparast had a better hold on range and timing, and he repeatedly stung Held with his right hand. When Held managed to get a takedown late in the opening frame, he did little from top position.

Haqparast kept with his strategy to stay on the feet, and he put down Held in the second frame. But perhaps a little too eager to show his dominance, he wound up in Held’s world when a throw was countered. Suddenly, he was fighting not to get caught in one of Held’s signature ankle locks.

Held decided to keep the fight in his comfort zone as the fight went into deep waters, and he landed an early takedown. Hunting for submissions, he twice transitioned to ankle attacks from guard. But with Haqparast well-prepared for the move, he moved to take mount. When Haqparast scrambled, Held nearly seized an armbar. Instead, he was forced to his feet.

Haqparast kept Held at bay with stiff punches to close out the fight. But despite his strong showing, judges awarded Held the sweep, bringing him his first win after a three-fight skid. Newcomer Haqparast now sees an eight-fight streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 118 results include:

• Marcin Held def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Brian Kelleher def. Damian Stasiak via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:39
• Ramazan Emeev def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Andre Fili def. Artem Lobov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Warlley Alves def. Salim Touahri via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Aspen Ladd def. Lina Lansberg via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:33
• Josh Emmett def. Felipe Arantes via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 118, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Abbey Subhan contributed to this report on site in Poland.)