UFC 273 took place Saturday, April 9, with a stacked card from Jacksonville, Florida. We ended up seeing Alex Volkanovski getting his first finish since 2018. He did so in dominant fashion when the ref pulled him off The Korean Zombie, as he had seen enough in the fourth round. The hype around 273 absolutely delivered in an action packed evening. Here’s what’s next for the winning side of the main card.
Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander Volkanovski put on a dominant performance in the UFC 273 main event. He landed shots heavy and often against the Korean Zombie. The ref ended up protecting the Zombie from himself in the fourth round, as the South Korean proved too tough for his own good. Volkanovski has been on a tear racking up 21 straight wins now.
What comes next? We’d like to see Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski 3. This is the fight that was originally scheduled prior to Max needing to pull out of the bout.
Volkanovski’s next fight: Max Holloway
Aljamain Sterling
Khamzat Chimaev
After dominating his first four fights in the UFC while facing very little adversity, Khamzat was finally challenged Saturday night. In a tough back-and-forth battle, Khamzat finally went to the judges for a decision for the first time in his professional career, in which he got the unanimous nod. We got to see his chin tested as well, in what was a Fight of the Night and one for the ages.
We’ve heard Dana say he wants Chimaev vs. Colby Covington next on ABC, however, there’s a chance Khamzat will end up fighting for a belt next. Our prediction is Khamzat gets the winner of Usman and Edwards.
Chimaev’s next fight: Usman/Edwards Winner.
Mackenzie Dern
This was a tough back and forth fight. Torres showed why she’s never been finished fighting off a lot of slick submission attempts. In the end, Dern got the nod from the judges.
Zhang and Jedzejczyk are set to go down in June. Mackenzie fighting the winner of this bout makes all the sense in the world for her and potentially has the feel to be a title elimination fight.
Derns’s next fight: Zhang/Jedrzejczyk Winner
Mark O. Madsen
In a very competitive fight, Mark O. Madsen was able to use his elite wrestling to edge the decision over Vinc Pichel Saturday night. The undefeated Olympian is now 12-0 with four wins inside the UFC octagon. We’d like to see Mark fight a tough veteran who has been ranked in the top 15 previously. Drew Dober would fit this bill nicely.
Madsen’s next fight: Drew Dober
