Alexander Volkanovski and Aljamain Sterling Retain Championships at UFC 273

Returning to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, the UFC put on their UFC 273 event in front of a packed crowd in attendance. The stacked card featured two title fights and a highly-anticipated main card fight between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev in the Welterweight division.

Kicking off the lineup of headline fights, rising star Khamzat Chimaev defeated Gilbert Burns with a Unanimous Decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) victory after three rounds in the Octagon. The two fighters went back and forth in a highly competitive bout which is expected to now place Chimaev in line for a shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship in the near future.

After losing his Bantamweight Championship by disqualification (intentional illegal knee strike) at UFC 259, Petr Yan and champion Aljamain Sterling faced off in the Octagon once again. A more measured encounter between the two saw the fighters showcase altered game plans with Sterling securing multiple rounds by taking Yan’s back on the ground. Despite a valiant effort to come back by Yan, the judges gave the victory to Aljamain Sterling after five rounds, Split Decision (48–47, 47–48, 48–47), to retain his title.

In the main event of the evening, fan-favorite “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung went up against an extremely determined Alexander Volkanovski. Expectedly standing his ground, Jung simply seemed outmatched by the Australian champion. In the fourth round, referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight (TKO), as Chan Sung Jung looked visibly weathered and had no answers for Volkanovski’s speed and striking. With the victory, Volkanovski extended his undefeated streak with another title defense.

In case you missed it, the UFC is now set to head to Singapore for UFC 275, the promotion’s first Southeast Asia pay-per-view.