Volkanovski Dominates ‘Korean Zombie,’ Sterling Edges Yan via Split Decision at UFC 273

Alexander Volkanovski is building quite the legacy as Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion.

The City Kickboxing standout was masterful in the UFC 273 headliner, authoring a dominant performance in a technical knockout triumph over Chan Sung Jung at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday night. Referee Herb Dean mercifully called a halt to the action 45 seconds into Round 4 after watching Jung absorb a pair of searing right hands. Volkanovski (24-1, 11-0 UFC) has won 21 consecutive fights and has three successful 145-pound title defenses to his credit.

Jung, who stepped in for an injured Max Holloway, might have been too tough for his own good. Volkanovski was superior in all aspects of the fight, whether it was at range, in the clinch or on the canvas. Volkanovski made Jung buckle with right hands on multiple occasions before dropping “The Korean Zombie” late in Round 3. In between, the champion punished his foe in close quarters and mixed in beautifully-timed takedowns. Volkanovski’s third-round barrage was enough to prompt a doctor's examination prior to the beginning of Round 4, but Jung was allowed to continue, if only briefly.

“He actually took a lot more than I wanted him to,” Volkanovski said. “I actually wanted them to stop it a little bit earlier…but that’s the sport we’re in.”

An absolute clinic by @AlexVolkanovski to retain his belt 👑 #UFC273 pic.twitter.com/bjTSTK5zGw

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022

Volkanovski didn’t allow Jung to last much longer. After he rocked a defensively-compromised Jung (17-7, 7-4 UFC) with a pair of right hands, Dean decided he had seen enough and wrapped his arms around Volkanovski. It was Jung’s first title bout since August 2013, when he fell to Jose Aldo via fourth-round TKO at UFC 163.

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Sterling Edges Yan, Unifies Bantamweight Title

Aljamain Sterling can remove the asterisk from his bantamweight championship reign.

“The Funkmaster” relied on his unorthodox wrestling and grappling to capture a split-decision triumph against Petr Yan in a 135-pound title unification bout in the evening’s co-main event. Judges Sal D’Amato and Eliseo Rodriguez scored the bout 48-47 for Sterling, while Chris Lee saw it 48-47 in favor of Yan. The victory provided a measure of redemption for Sterling (21-3, 13-3 UFC) after he initially claimed the bantamweight throne due to an illegal knee strike from Yan in their first meeting at UFC 259.

Yan (16-3, 8-2 UFC) displayed stellar takedown defense for the majority of the contest, but the two attempts landed by Sterling proved to be crucial. The Serra-Longo Fight Team member grounded his Russian foe in Rounds 2 and 3 and spent the majority of the time attached to Yan’s back while landing punches and threatening with chokes.

Yan came on strong in the championship frames. He rocked Sterling with jumping knees, pushed the pace with punching combinations and stuffed multiple takedowns. Additionally, the positional control that Sterling enjoyed earlier in the fight belonged to Yan over the final 10 minutes. Ultimately, the bout hinged on a close opening round, in which Sterling circled on the outside and landed several kicks to the body while Yan controlled the Octagon and sprawled on multiple takedowns.

Sterling, who has won seven straight UFC appearances, called out ex-champ T.J. Dillashaw in his post-fight interview.

Chimaev Tops Burns in ‘Fight of the Year’ Contender

Khamzat Chimaev passed the most significant test of his career to date — but just barely.

Chimaev (11-0, 5-0 UFC) defeated former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision in a wild slugfest that will likely end up on many “Fight of the Year” lists when all is said and done. All three cageside judges saw it 29-28 for Chimaev, who went the distance for the first time in his professional tenure.

“What a f—ing tough guy,” Chimaev said of Burns. “I didn’t know he was so tough.”

Wrestling was rarely a factor in the bout, which for many was the most highly-anticipated matchup on the UFC 273 bill. Chimaev grounded Burns (20-5, 13-5 UFC) early in Round 1, but the two welterweight contenders elected to stand and trade for the majority of the bout. Chimaev struck the first blow late in the opening stanza, when he sat Burns down with a jab and unloaded with ground-and-pound, opening a cut on his opponent’s forehead.

Burns rallied in Round 2, as he clipped Chimaev multiple times with heavy right hands while utilizing solid head movement and rolling with his foe’s punches. That set the stage for a memorable final round, where both men landed heavy shots in a back-and-forth brawl. However, Chimaev enjoyed continued success with his jab and uppercut and was able to back Burns into the fence while on the attack on a few occasions, which likely made the difference in a closely-contested fight.

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Dern Takes Narrow Split Verdict Over Torres

Mackenzie Dern added a significant name to her resume, taking a contentious split-decision triumph over Tecia Torres in a battle of strawweight contenders. Judges Derek Cleary and Chris Lee saw it 29-28 for Dern, while Barry Luxenberg submitted a 29-28 tally in favor of Torres. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has won five of her last six UFC appearances.

Dern (12-2, 7-2 UFC) forced the issue with forward movement throughout the contest, but she really made Torres (13-6, 9-6 UFC) sweat in Round 2, when she jumped guard, made her adversary carry her weight and nearly finished the fight with a kimura. After Torres freed herself from that predicament, Dern threatened with a kneebar on the mat before ending the round with some backfists and elbows from top position.

Torres was the more accurate striker in the fight, as she relied on punching combinations, kicks to the legs and body and movement to keep Dern guessing. “The Tiny Tornado” avoided danger in the final round, when she sent Dern backward with an upkick following a takedown and then landed a spinning kick to the body when the combatants returned to their feet. In the end, however, it was Dern’s aggression and grappling that won the day.

Madsen Remains Unbeaten, Holds Off Pichel

Olympic silver medalist Mark O. Madsen relied on his bread-and-butter to earn a closely-contested unanimous decision triumph over “The Ultimate Fighter 15” cast member Vinc Pichel in a featured lightweight encounter. Madsen received scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 from the judges to snap his opponent’s three-bout winning streak.

Madsen (12-0, 4-0 UFC) landed takedowns in all three periods and chopped away at his foe’s lead leg with calf kicks, but Pichel (14-3, 7-3 UFC) made things interesting in Round 2, when he had success with kicks to the body, right hands and a takedown late in the frame. Pichel started off aggressively in Round 3, but a Madsen takedown with more than 3:00 to go changed the complexion of the fight for good. The Danish standout controlled positioning for the rest of the stanza, drawing boos from the crowd but sealing his latest victory.

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