Nine years on from his first title shot, against then-featherweight champ Jose Aldo, The Korean Zombie had a second chance to claim gold at UFC 273. Paired in the main event against a dominant champ in Alexander Volkanovski, the veteran from South Korea had the chance to pull off a monumental upset Saturday night in Jacksonville, Florida.
Volkanovski vs. Zombie wasn’t the only title fight on the UFC 273 card. In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan finally got to run it back. In March of 2021, Sterling had captured bantamweight gold against Yan, but the fight had ended in a DQ thanks to an illegal knee by the Russian. For the first time in UFC history, a title had changed hands due to a disqualification — and Yan had pursued the rematch ever since, winning an interim title against Cory Sandhagen back in October.
Despite two massive title fights topping the docket, it was a non-title affair that carried with it the most intrigue on Saturday. Khamzat Chimaev was getting his first true test in the UFC, after starching his first four opponents. Against former title challenger Gilbert Burns, “Borz” had the opportunity to prove there was fire behind the smoke, justification behind the hype.
Following UFC 273, tune in for the post-fight press conference. A live stream is available above.
