UFC 273: Previewing Alexander Volkanovski-Korean Zombie and the Rest of the Card

After a March that's been dominated by NCAA hoops and compelling playoff pushes in the NBA and NHL, the UFC gets a chance to put its stamp on April with an early spring trip to Florida.

The mixed martial arts conglomerate will travel to Jacksonville for the second time in a year to produce UFC 273, a 14-bout event that will be topped by a pair of championship matches as well as a competitively compelling bout between high-profile welterweight contenders.

The return to the Sunshine State's northeast corner comes exactly 350 days after the promotion's last visit, which included Kamaru Usman's rematch KO of Jorge Masvidal, the reascension of Rose Namajunas to championship level and the horrifying image of Chris Weidman breaking a leg against Uriah Hall.

This time around, featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski gets main event treatment for his third title defense against fourth-ranked challenger Chan Sung Jung—colloquially billed as the "Korean Zombie."

Another rematch, between bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling and ex-claimant Petr Yan, holds down the co-main position and is a runback of the aborted UFC 259 bout 13 months ago in which Sterling won the title when Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee strike.

Those title fights and a duel between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev—ranked second and 11th at 170 pounds, respectively—comprise three items on a pay-per-view main course that gets going at 10 p.m. ET, while the early prelim and prelim segments will start at 6:15 and 8 p.m ET.

The B/R combat sports team perused the menu and identified a few of the tastier highlights.

UFC 273 Main Card (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung

Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan

Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres

Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dricus Du Plessis

UFC 273 Preliminary Card (ESPNEWS/ESPN+, 8 p.m.)

Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington

Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks

Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura

UFC 273 Early Prelims (UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+, 6:15 p.m.)

Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott

Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos

Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen

Piera Rodriguez vs. Kay Hansen

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

If you know, you know.

And those who follow the sport on a regular basis know Alexander Volkanovski is a flat-out warrior.

Now 33, the Aussie-born featherweight with Greek and Macedonian roots was a champion in multiple promotions before arriving to the UFC in 2016 and winning his first seven bouts, a run he parlayed into a title-bout upset of Max Holloway at UFC 245 in December 2019.

The two met again in his first defense seven months later, and the result was the same when Volkanovski squeaked out a split decision at UFC 251 on Fight Island. He made it two successful defenses at UFC 266 last September when he and Brian Ortega exchanged strikes, takedowns and submission attempts across five instant-classic rounds before the champ emerged with a unanimous decision.

It was his 20th win in a row and 10th straight in the UFC.

Volkanovski praised Ortega's resilience and labeled him a "zombie" for being able to walk through a fusillade of heavy strikes, and he'll meet another foe this time for whom that's a signature characteristic.

Chan Sung Jung is branded the "Korean Zombie" for his ability and willingness to move forward and fight aggressively after taking heavy punishment, and the title try is the second of his 11-year UFC career and comes seven fights after he was TKO'd by then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 163 in 2013.

He's lost twice in six bouts since—via KO to Yair Rodriguez and decision to Ortega—and got the second shot when Holloway pulled out of a would-be Volkanovski trilogy with an injury.

Volkanovki is commonly labeled as a dangerous striker, and his reputation was honed during his days as a muay thai fighter while competing at a far heavier weight. He's particularly adept at working his opponent's legs, as evidenced by the 75 kicks (a UFC record for a man) he landed on Holloway in their first fight. 

Complementing the striking is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and additional training in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Jung, meanwhile, is a beloved figure because of his toughness and heart, but he's also a black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which makes him dangerous for as long as he's able to endure Volkanovski's attack.

He defeated Dan Ige by decision in a Fight Night main event last June and is 7-3 in the UFC.

"He's an OG of the sport," Volkanovski said on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. 

"You talk about legacy, he's one of the biggest names in the division as well. I want to take out all the guys, the legends of the featherweight division, and he's one of them. And he's coming off a win, a good win off Dan Ige. So it's the only one that makes sense, and that's why we wanted it."

Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan

Chris Unger/Getty Images

If you believe Petr Yan is the legitimate bantamweight champ, terrific.

If you believe Aljamain Sterling is the rightful king at 135 pounds, that's great.

Regardless of whose flag you choose to wave in advance, reckoning day is near.

The viewpoint on which fighter should carry the title belt into the cage in Jacksonville is significantly shaped by your opinion of what occurred—or what should have occurred—at UFC 259 in March 2021.

It was there that Sterling became the first UFC champion to ever capture a belt by disqualification after he was deemed unfit to continue following the strike from Yan's right knee to the left side of his head in Round 4.

But even the new king lamented the manner in which he was crowned.

"Everything I worked for to this point and to f--king have the fight go like that—that's not the way I wanted to win," he said. "That's not the way I envisioned this."

Two judges had Yan up by a point after three full rounds, while Sterling led by the same margin on a third scorecard. Sterling was frenetic and aggressive in the opening round before he was dropped by a right hand about three minutes in. He continued to press with gradually less impact as the second and third rounds unfolded, and Yan was able to effectively defend Sterling's frequent takedown tries, too.

Yan's biggest UFC wins have come against fading legends like Aldo (TKO 5)—against whom he captured a vacant title—and Urijah Faber (KO 3), and fringe contenders Jimmie Rivera (UD 3) and John Dodson (UD 3). He's fought once since the Sterling meeting and defeated Cory Sandhagen by five-round decision.

Sterling, meanwhile, earned his initial title shot with an 88-second choke-out of Sandhagen in June 2020, but he's not competed since the first Yan fight—his longest hiatus since a 14-month gap between his seventh and eighth pro fights in 2012-13.

"I don't think anything's on the line other than a piece of metal," Sterling said in a video posted to his YouTube channel. "People can say reputation, they can say all that, career, I don't think so.

"At the end of the day, my legacy, my resume speaks for itself, whether or not some people want to remember that as the main marquee thing. Go look at my other submissions. Go look at my rear submissions. Go look at my finishes. Go look at how I shut guys down. At the end of the day, I just gotta go out there and perform and show everything I've been working hard at."

Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Chris Unger/Getty Images

You might not have seen Khamzat Chimaev. 

But there's a really good chance you've heard him.

He's the Russian-born, Swedish-based firebrand who announced his UFC presence with authority with a Performance of the Night stoppage of middleweight John Phillips at the Fight Island venue on July 16, 2020. He then returned just 10 days later to squash welterweight Rhys McKee and pick up another bonus check.

It established a promotional record for quickest turnaround between victories, and Chimaev's post-fight interviews in which he proclaimed his intention to smash all foes in similar fashion were just as memorable.

A 17-second obliteration of sturdy veteran Gerald Meerschaert came two months later in Las Vegas before a particularly grueling bout with COVID-19 kept Chimaev on the sidelines for better than a year until he returned last October for a one-round submission defeat of Li Jingliang back on Fight Island.

Four fights. Four finishes. Four bonus checks.

For Gilbert Burns, though, climbing in with Chimaev is a tantalizing challenge.

The second-ranked 170-pound contender was one of the UFC's hottest fighters and had won six in a row before running into former training partner and reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and losing by TKO at UFC 258 in February 2021.

He's fought once since, defeating Stephen Thompson by decision at UFC 264 in July.

The 35-year-old is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has 14 finishes amid 20 career wins, including a 13-4 mark in Octagonal competition with four submission victories and three more by knockout. And when he looks at Chimaev, a jiu-jitsu blue belt with six KOs and four submissions, he sees opportunity.

"Khamzat was the only one that wanted to fight," he told MMA Junkie.

"I know he’s a big risk and he’s No. 11 and very tough, but if I want to be champion, I need to fight everyone. I’m following the example of Glover Teixeira and Charles Oliveira. I need to fight everyone. He’s tough and a big risk, but I still want to fight him."

Other Attractions: Bantamweight Crossroads

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Will the real Aspen Ladd please stand up?

The 27-year-old bantamweight's appearance on next Saturday's card could go a long way toward determining if the fourth-ranked contender is the real deal or an imposter.

She surely looked like the former upon arrival to the UFC, extending a 5-0 career record to 8-0 with consecutive defeats of Lina Lansberg (TKO 2), Tonya Evinger (TKO 1) and Sijara Eubanks (UD 3) that came across 19 months from October 2017 to May 2019.

But in the nearly three years since, the bloom has come off the rose.

Ladd was stopped in just 16 seconds by veteran Germaine de Randamie in a Fight Night main event two months after the Eubanks win, and shortly after a bounce-back TKO win in December 2019 against Yana Kunitskaya, she underwent reconstructive surgery after tearing the ACL and MCL in her right knee.

Her return 22 months later was desultory at best and ended in a wide decision loss to Norma Dumont after Ladd was a late substitution atop another Fight Night show in October.

Ladd was denied on all five takedown attempts against Dumont and was curiously tentative throughout, landing double-digit strikes in only one of five rounds.

She gets a crack at a late sub this time around, with No. 7 contender Raquel Pennington stepping in for the match when original opponent Irene Aldana pulled out with an injury.

Pennington has been a UFC commodity since a stint on The Ultimate Fighter in 2013, and she earned a title shot against then-bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes five years later and made it to the fifth round before finally succumbing by TKO at 2:36.

The 33-year-old dropped a bout with de Randamie six months later but is 4-1 in five fights since, including three consecutive wins over Marion Reneau (UD 3), Pannie Kianzad (UD 3) and Macy Chiasson (sub 2).

"The ultimate goal is the world title," Pennington said, per Maddyn Johnstone-Thomas of UFC.com. "In the meantime, each one is a steppingstone. I think that every girl brings a challenge to the table. I don’t care if you’re the champion, number one or if you’re 50, I love challenges."

Best of the Rest

Mike Roach/Getty Images

Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik

If at first your fight doesn't come off—reschedule, reschedule again.

That's where we stand on the encounter that's penciled in as one of two heavyweight bouts on the show, matching the oldest active fighter on the UFC roster and a veteran of 76 career bouts against a former 205-pound competitor making his third appearance in the big-boy division.

Oleinik, 44, has been a pro since 1996 but hasn't won since 2020, dropping bouts to Derrick Lewis, Chris Daukaus and Sergey Spivak since defeating ex-champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 249 in Jacksonville.

Latifi, meanwhile, is 1-1 in two forays above 206 pounds, having dropped a unanimous decision to Derrick Lewis before following it up with a split verdict over Tanner Boser in his last bout 10 months ago in Las Vegas.  

Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen

Lightweights Pichel and Madsen will also be fighting on a rescheduled date after their would-be encounter at UFC 271 in February was scrapped.

Pichel, 39, has been an on-again, off-again UFC participant since competing on The Ultimate Fighter in 2012, winning seven of eight bouts since—including three straight unanimous decisions against Roosevelt Roberts, Jim Miller and Austin Hubbard in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The Danish-born Madsen has run his record to 11-0 since making the full-time jump to mixed martial arts from Greco-Roman wrestling, where he was a five-time medalist at world championships from 2005 to 2015 and won silver in the 75-kilogram division at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

He's defeated Danilo Belluardo, Austin Hubbard and Clay Guida since arriving to the UFC in 2019.

Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd

When the matchup wheel finally stopped spinning, Hernandez and Fremd became opponents.

The 28-year-old Hernandez, a veteran of four UFC fights at middleweight, lost initial foe Albert Duraev to an injury and was penciled in to face Dricus Du Plessis as a replacement before Du Plessis was pulled away to meet Kelvin Gastelum when Gastelum's prospective competition was scratched on account of visa issues.

Into the vacuum steps Fremd, a 28-year-old from outside of Pittsburgh who was 8-2 in a handful of smaller promotions before earning a UFC contract with a second-round submission of Joel Bauman on the Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight show in February.

Hernandez has split his four Octagonal appearances, most recently submitting Rodolfo Vieira in two rounds on February's UFC 258 card in Las Vegas.