UFC 273 Preview

Hello ladies and gentleman, we are in for another epic night of fights on April 9. UFC 273 will be taking place in Jacksonville, Florida at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The fight card is pretty good from top to bottom, but the last 3 fights of the night is what everyone is looking forward to. The main card features two title fights as Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski (23-1) defends his Featherweight Championship against "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung (17-6) and Aljamain "Funk Master" Sterling (20-3) defends "his" Bantamweight Championship in a unification bout against Interim Champion Petr "No Mercy" Yan (16-2), followed by undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev (10-0) against elite welterweight Gilbert "Durinho" Burns (20-4) in what is sure to be a barn burner of a fight. Before we witness this amazing card on Saturday April 9, I wanted to share my thoughts and predictions on each fight.

Alexander Volkanovski vs Chan Sung Jung

Make no mistake about it, Alex Volkanovski vs "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung is going to be a hell of a fight. Look I get it, we all wanted Volkanovski vs Holloway 3 to be going down this Saturday night, but unfortunately Holloway was sidelined due to injury and The Korean Zombie stepped up in his place. Volkanovski is looking to further cement his legacy by defending his Featherweight Championship for the third time, while Korean Zombie has a chance at redemption after coming up short in his first chance at the title almost 10 years ago against Jose Aldo. Both men possess the necessary skills to win this fight, although I feel Volkanovski has slightly has the advantage. Alex is about as well rounded as a fighter could be. He has phenomenal striking, good grappling, and is one of the better pressure fighters on the roster. In his previous fights, he continuously puts his opponents on their back foot, which is why he is able to implement his gameplan majority of the time. Korean Zombie on the other hand, will be coming into this fight guns blazing. When was the last time Zombie was in a boring fight? Don't worry, I'll wait.. Korean Zombie possesses great striking and has sneaky submissions as well. Remember, he was the first one in history to win fight using the rare submission, "The Twister". Jung will be coming into this fight as a replacement, so he really has nothing to lose in this fight. He will be looking to knock Volkanovskis' head off Saturday night. Will Volkanovski be able to pressure Zombie and keep him on his back foot with chopping leg kicks? Will Chan Sung Jung be able to withstand the pressure and be the first Korean fighter to win a belt in the UFC? We shall find out Saturday night ladies and gentleman. We are in for a treat!

Prediction: Alexander Volkanovski via 4th-Round Knockout

Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan

The roof will be blown off the VyStar arena, when Aljamain "Funkmaster" Sterling meets Petr Yan in the middle of the cage Saturday night. Both men hate each other. Both men are extremely elite. It's quite simple here people, we are in for a spectacular fight. This will be the second fight between the two fighters, as the first fight ended with controversy. During the first fight between the pair, Aljamain started off the fight with high energy and volume striking. As the fight moved forward, Petr Yan started taking over the fight and looked as if he was cruising onto another successful title defense. Then things took a drastic turn in the fourth round, when Petr Yan struck Aljamain Sterling with a brutal knee while he was Sterling was grounded. The world was in shock when that happened because we all knew the end result if Sterling couldn't continue. According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, if a fighter lands an illegal blow to their opponent causing them to be unable to fight, the fighter loses via disqualification. This particular situation was a little different though, due to Yan being the champion and being disqualified in a championship fight. After being kneed, Sterling couldn't continue and was granted the Bantamweight Championship via disqualification. The decision to grant Sterling the belt, even though he was being dominated sent the MMA community into a frenzy. Fans were upset and felt that Sterling was "acting" and wasn't as hurt as he pretended to be. We will never know, the fact remains that Sterling is indeed the Bantamweight Championship. With that being said, let's do a breakdown of this fight. Petr Yan is an excellent fighter with some of the best boxing on the roster and excellent takedown defense to match. Each and every fight Yan is able to implement his gameplan and pressure his opponents in the later rounds to secure the victory. He is coming off a spectacular back and forth war against Cory Sandhagen, where he was able to obtain the Bantamweight Interim belt and a chance to claim the Undisputed Championship back from Sterling. On the other hand, Sterling has some of the best jiu-jitsu on the roster and is definitely looking to take Yan's back and secure the choke. Sterling's gameplan was shut down in the first fight, as Sterling was unable to successfully take Yan down and keep him there. Will Sterling be able to implement his gameplan this time around? You know they say, the best teacher in life is experience. After being in the cage with Yan the first time, he could make the necessary adjustments to win this time around. Will Yan use his boxing and pressure to secure the knockout? Will Sterling be able to secure the choke? We shall see, I can't wait for this fight!

Prediction: Alajamain Sterling via 3rd-Round Rear Naked Choke

Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns

Alright ladies and gentleman, we're going to keep this one short and sweet. Add me to the Khamzat hype train! Khamzat vs Burns is going to be a hell of a fight and I can't wait. This has Conor McGregor 145 pound vibes written all over it. Khamzat Chimaev has been nothing but dominant since arriving in the UFC from Sweden and is looking to leapfrog his way to contender status when he takes on welterweight former title challenger Gilbert Burns.The MMA community hasn't seen a fighter on the rise like this, since the emergence of Conor McGregor years ago. Khamzat definitely has the "it" factor and the UFC notices that as well. Make no mistake about it, the UFC is hoping Chimaev wins this fight. On the other hand, Gilbert Burns is a former title challenger who is itching for another chance at the belt. We've seen hype trains derailed in the past, and that is exactly what Gilbert is looking to do. Khamzat has ended his fights early in dominant fashion and has taken less significant strikes than anyone in UFC history thus far. He is coming into the cage to do one thing and one thing only, and that is to "smesh" Gilbert Burns. Burns presents the first real problem for Khamzat and is elite in his own right. Will Khamzat be able to implement his pressure and "smesh" Gilbert? Will Gilbert derail the hype train? We shall soon find out!

Prediction: Khamzat Chimaev via 2nd-Round Rear Naked Choke