UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie – Roundup

This weekend a stacked fight card took place, and we go upsets, amazing matches, and a bright future for the UFC divisions.

The two champions retained their belts, and a prospect has made a huge step towards his title contenders.

You can check all the UFC/MMA bets, the analysis of each fighter, and the final bet you can make in future fights.

UFC 273 – Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie – Review and Fight Analysis

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung

Our Pick: Alexander Volkanovski

Outcome: Volkanovski kept the damage going up until he scored a 4rth round TKO victory.

It was one-way traffic the whole way, with Volkanovski doing damage to Jung every round. 

Volkanovski dropped Jung at the end of the third round and nearly finished him with ground and pound. 

At the start of the fourth, it was pretty clear referee Herb Dean was keeping an eye on Jung; whose face was in bad shape and whose nose was broken. 

When Volkanovski landed a big combo early in the fourth, Dean stepped in to stop it even though Jung was still standing.

UFC 273: Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan

Our Pick: Petr Yan

Outcome: Sterling wins a controversial split decision and gets booed by the crowd.

Sterling got the last laugh on Petr Yan and all of his critics on Saturday, as he pulled out a razor-close split decision over Yan. 

The 135-pound title fight was supposed to end any controversy left from the initial meeting between the two in March 2021.

That controversy might not be completely cleared up, however, as some scored the fight in Yan’s favor. 

Sterling seemed to enjoy the win, even though the Jacksonville crowd booed the decision.

UFC 273: Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Our Pick: Khamzat Chimaev

Outcome: The undefeated Chimaev outlasted Burns via unanimous decision.

Chimaev dropped Burns with a perfect left jab near the end of the first round and nearly finished with huge ground and pound. 

A big elbow from the top caused a cut on Burns’ forehead. 

Burns fired back and dropped Chimaev twice in the second, though the first one seemed more of a slip. 

Burns had Chimaev hurt toward the end of the round, though.

Chimaev fired back in the third, as Burns was tired from the grueling battle, and Chimaev got him against the cage and was landing hard shots while Burns covered up. 

To his credit, Burns was able to get another wind and land some shots later in the round, but the hard flurries put Chimaev over the top, earning him the biggest win of his career.

UFC 273: Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres

Our Pick: Mackenzie Dern

Outcome: Mackenzie Dern scores a win over Torres via split decision.

The second round was just 40 seconds old when Dern jumped guard, locked in a kimura while the fighters still were standing, then brought Torres down on top of her on the canvas. 

Dern continued to work on the kimura, and after Torres defended that well, Dern switched to a leg lock. 

Torres made it to the horn but looked drained as she went to her corner.

When Round 3 began with Dern getting a quick takedown, it didn’t look good for Torres — until she unleashed an uptick that floored Dern against the cage. 

And Torres took over from there, but it was not enough for two judges, who turned in 29-28 scorecards in Dern’s favor.

UFC 273: Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen

Our Pick: Vinc Pitchel

Outcome: Madsen’s group work paves the way for a unanimous decision victory over Pichel.

Denmark’s Madsen remained undefeated with a decision over Pichel, following three grueling rounds.

All three judges scored it in Madsen’s favor: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28. It was a tough fight, as Madsen and Pichel’s best skill seemed to be negating each other’s offense. Every strike and inch on the ground took effort, and both were tired by the end.

In the end, Madsen’s wrestling was the difference. He was credited with success on all three of his takedowns and racked up 5:10 of control time to just 48 seconds for Pichel.

The Aftermath:

We had 3 right out of 5 matches, but there is a huge reward for all MMA fans thanks to one of the results, and a sour taste in the mouth for others thanks to another.

The sour taste was Aljo’s victory in the co-main event, as people right now are hating the “undisputed” champion, who seemed to be running from the fight in the first round, and only landed 2 takedowns out of 22 attempts.

Right now, fans feel exactly like they did when the DQ made him a champion; something doesn’t feel right.

However, on the bright side, the victory by Khamzat Chimaev get’s him a lot closer to the first title challenge in his plans.

He managed to beat a top contender in the division, but he wasn’t the monster he had been before, as Burns was a lot tougher than ‘Borz’ had expected.

It will be exciting to know when Chimaev and Usman will face each other, but Usman shouldn’t feel threatened by watching Chimaev’s performance tonight.