Athletes
Prospects To Watch | Esteban Ribovics & Hyder Amil
Look Back At Esteban Ribovics And Hyder Amil's Epic 2024 Campaigns As They Prepare To Shine At UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Almabayev, Live From UFC APEX On March 1
The featherweight and lightweight divisions feature a ton of intriguing prospects and contenders.
This weekend’s event at UFC APEX is home to another host of exciting fights, including ones featuring prospects you should be sure to tune in for. Lightweight Esteban Ribovics and featherweight Hyder Amil are both on win streaks and have made noise since making their UFC debuts.
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Before they make the walk on Saturday night, let’s take a look at these prospects to watch.
Esteban Ribovics
After losing his UFC debut to Loik Radzhabov, Esteban Ribovics has gone on a three-fight win streak, solidifying himself as a top prospect in the lightweight division.
“El Gringo” is coming off a split decision win over Daniel Zellhuber last year at Noche UFC, a fight that fans are still talking about today and one that was nominated for Fight of the Year. It was a big win for Ribovics, who snapped Zellhuber’s three-fight win streak.
Ribovics kickstarted his 2024 campaign with a huge first-round knockout over Terrance McKinney in St. Louis. The knockout came in just 37 seconds. Following his debut in March 2023, Ribovics picked up a unanimous win over Kameula Kirk at UFC 290, the fight that began his win streak.
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The 28-year-old has seven wins by knockout and five by submission. He only has one loss in his professional career and that came against Radzhabov. Ribovics competed on season six of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he notched yet another first-round knockout against Thomas Paull. It only took him 90 seconds to secure the victory.
Saturday night inside UFC APEX, Ribovics gets to test himself against Nasrat Haqparast, who comes into the matchup on a four-fight win streak, most recently defeating Jared Gordon in Saudi Arabia last year. Haqparast comes into the matchup with significantly more Octagon experience, having been in the UFC since 2017. In a division full of exciting prospects and contenders, this matchup is a great opportunity for Ribovics to get one step closer to a number next to his name.
Hyder Amil
Hyder Amil enters his third UFC fight looking to keep his perfect record intact. Amil made his UFC debut last February, scoring a second-round TKO victory over Fernie Garcia. He followed it up with a first-round TKO against JeongYeong Lee five months later.
Amil competed on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2023, where he earned a unanimous decision win. Seven of his 10 wins have ended by finish, with six of them by knockout.
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The 34-year-old featherweight takes on France’s William Gomis, who last competed in September against Joanderson Brito. His split decision victory over Brito marked his 12th in a row. Despite having very different styles, this one should be one that fight fans tune in for, as it could be Fight of the Night material, with both men looking to continue the climb up the 145-pound ladder.
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Almabayev took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 1, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!