The UFC has officially announced the highly anticipated welterweight match-up between Gilbert Burns and surging Khamzat Chimaev.
Promotion officials made the announcement on social media Saturday, with UFC President Dana White confirming the booking during the UFC 272 post-fight press conference. Burns (20-4) and Chimaev (10-0) will face off as part of UFC 273 in April.
The fight everyone has been asking for 👀@GilbertDurinho vs @KChimaev
[ #UFC273 | April 9 | @VyStarVetArena | Tickets 🔗 https://t.co/1KZvTNW7uF ] pic.twitter.com/6qrDJ7Wss6
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
The event takes place on April 9, 2022 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter was first to report news of the match-up.
Chimaev was unquestionably the breakout star of the pandemic era for the UFC. Through four UFC fights, “Borz” has stopped John Phillips, Rhys McKee, Gerald Meerschaert, and Li Jingliang in their tracks. Had in not been for a tough battle with COVID-19, Chimaev likely would have been even more active, given he set the modern UFC record for shortest turnaround between wins at 10 days.
Burns, who came up short in a title bid against Kamaru Usman in February 2021, bounced back with a win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 264 last July. Since returning to the welterweight division in 2019 after a stint at 155lbs, “Durinho” has posted a 5-1 record.
April’s UFC 273 card is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champ Alexander Volkanovski and fan favorite The Korean Zombie. The following bouts have been reported for the event thus far:
Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. The Korean Zombie – for the UFC featherweight championship
Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. Petr Yan (ic) – for the UFC bantamweight championship / title unification bout
Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks
Dricus du Plessis vs. Chris Curtis
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
Albert Duraev vs. Anthony Hernandez
Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
Gavin Tucker vs. Pat Sabatini
Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
Piera Rodriguez vs. Kay Hansen
Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev
