UFC 273 went down last night (Sat, April 9, 2022) at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. with two title fights. In the evening’s pay-per-view (PPV) Main Event, Alexander Volkanovski defeated Chan Sung Jung by technical knockout in the fourth round (watch it again here). In the co-headlining act, Aljamain Sterling defeated Petr Yan via a split decision to unify the bantamweight belt (review here).
Biggest Winner: Alexander Volkanovski
We can go any route here so it really doesn’t matter who gets first place because there were so many important and impressive wins last night, but Alexander Volkanovski takes the mantle for his utter dominance from Jung. “The Great” is still struggling to get the respect a champion of its caliber deserves, but hopefully it’s earned something from the critics after making it to “Korean Zombie” before finally bringing it into the fourth round stopped. That’s three consecutive title defenses for the Australian champions and a total of 21 straight wins. Volkanovski is on his way to cementing his place as one of the top 145lb champions of all time, although he still has a long way to go to rival Jose Aldo’s reign. Still, The Great proved that he is exactly that, and he doesn’t plan to slow down any time soon.
Runners-up: Aljamain Sterling and Chamzat Chimaev
Despite all the criticism Sterling received after his disqualification win over Yan in their first encounter, “Funkmaster” proved he was the real deal after beating the Russian bomber, albeit a razor-thin split decision (see scorecard here ). Still, Sterling showed courage and insisted on unifying the titles and love him or hate him, he saluted his respects last night and answered questions many had. As for Chimaev, he also cleared some doubts about his ability to go the distance against a high-ranked opponent after defeating No. 2 welterweight contender Gilbert Burns. Although he had some shining moments, it was the fact that Chimaev took a lot of damage and kept ticking, fighting through adversity and getting the win, that really propelled Chimaev’s stocks higher. Not only does he impress with his 11th straight win and an extra $50,000 bonus check after the fight, but he probably deserves a big fight against Colby Covington next.
Biggest Loser: Chan Sung Jung
Look, “Korean Zombie” has earned its stripes, is a fan favorite and putting it there is no slap to it anyway. But the blows and defeat he suffered at the hands of Volkanovski were one-sided from the jump. The Australian champions proved they are just a touch (or two) better than everyone else at the moment and Jung was unfortunately the last notch in his belt. “Korean Zombie” is down 1-2 in his last three fights and 0-2 in all UFC title fights. He’s still one of the most popular fighters in the game and his tenacity and resilience have always been respected, but after taking a ton of damage (again) it can’t be blamed for some for believing a downfall is imminent. I – and many others – certainly hope not, but victory is paramount in his next fight. And while he’s known for taking damage and pushing forward, as his nickname would suggest, changing his tactics and mindset might be best for getting ahead, for winning, as well as for his health .
For full UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. Korean Zombie results and play-by-play click here HERE.