UFC 273 breakdown

On Saturday, April 9th, the UFC returns to Jacksonville Florida with one of the most anticipated cards of the year. From top to bottom this might be one of the most talented and stacked cards. The PPV main card features two title fights, two welterweight contenders and two of the best 115-pound women on the planet, the prelims are also straight fire and could easily be its own event on a fight night card.

In the main event, we will see the defending and reigning champion Alexander, who is on a 20 fight win streak try and add another victim to his very impressive resume, as he takes on the Korean Zombie Chang Sung Jung. Volk is coming off of one of the most brutal yet memorable title fights ever when he defeated Brian Ortega last September. The Korean Zombie last competed against Dan Ige where he was victorious by unanimous decision he is 3-2 in his last 5 with wins over Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano and Dan Ige. Both fighters are fan favorites due to their relentless yet exciting styles, so come fight night we could be treated to fireworks of epic proportions.

The co-main is probably the most heated and bad blood infused fight of the night. Current champ Aljo and Petr met last October, during their fight Petr was the more dominant fighter and was having his way with Aljo before being DQ’d in the 4th round due to an illegal knee, this led to much trash talk and animosity in the coming months, especially after the fight fell through on multiple occasions with Petr accusing Aljo of being scared and afraid.

While Khamzat has yet to headline an event, it sure feels like this fight is getting all the attention. This clash of welterweights has title implications all over it as both fighters are two of the biggest threats to the 170-pound title. Gilbert has much more experience than Khamzat and has faced much more difficult competition, he not only fought Kamaru Usman last February but has faced and beat names like Wonderboy Thompson, Tyron Woodley, Damien Maia and Gunnar Nelson. Khamzat on the other hand is probably the scariest prospect in UFC history, the man has only been hit twice since joining the organization and has manhandled his opponents like a big brother beating up his little brother. It will be interesting to see what he has learned or improved while training with Darren Till and forming the Smesh brothers. If Khmazat does to Burns what he has done to so many, one cant deny that he is the rightful challenger to Usman’s title.

The rest of the card is a certified banger as Mackenzie Dern and Tecia Torres are two of the most tenured and respected fighters in their weight class, as well as always being a victory away from getting a title shot. When talking about prospects every MMA fan should know that Ian Garry is someone to keep an eye out for, the 24-year-old Irishman made his UFC debut recently and KO’d his opponent in the 1st. But before that fight, we also have a clash of heavyweights when Jairzinho takes on Tybura in a contest not many see going the distance. We also get to see Raquel Pennington take on Aspen Ladd. Raquel has reinvented herself and is looking like the rocky of old that earned herself a title shot years ago.

Main Card:

Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) vs Chan Sung Jung (17-6)

Aljamain Sterling (20-3) vs Peter Yan (16-2)

Gilbert Burns (20-4) vs Khamzat Chimaev (10-0)

Mackenzie Dern (11-2) vs Tecia Torres (13-5)

PRELIMS

Ian Garry (8-0) vs Darian Weeks (5-1)

Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3) vs Marcin Tybura (22-7)

Aspen Ladd (9-2) vs Raquel Pennington (13-8)

Mickey Gall (7-4) vs Mike Mallot (7-1)

EARLY PRELIMS

Vinc Pichel (14-2) vs Marc Madsen (11-0)