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UFC 273 is finally in the books, and just as the fans were hoping, we were treated to an excellent show with a number of memorable moments.
Sure, the pay-per-view featured just three finishes across its 12 bouts. However, there were still a number of truly explosive moments on offer that will probably end up on the highlight reels for a long time to come.
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With that in mind, here are the five most explosive moments from UFC 273: Alexander Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie.
#5. Aljamain Sterling’s big second round allows him to retain UFC gold
The grudge match between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan for the UFC bantamweight title was more of a chess match than a wildly explosive encounter. It’s likely that fans will be debating for a while which of the two deserved the nod.
Dana White stated that he felt Yan did enough to win, while the judges – and a number of online experts – went with Sterling, feeling that he won the first, second and third rounds of the bout.
If you base your winner on the man who had the most dominant round then it’s hard to suggest that Sterling didn’t deserve the victory. His second round was utterly fantastic, and he came close to finishing the fight on more than one occasion.
The round saw ‘Funk Master’ unleash the same explosive grappling skills that he’d used to submit the likes of Cory Sandhagen in the past. He latched onto Yan’s back and controlled him for the majority of the stanza while hunting for a choke.
Sterling didn’t just look to submit ‘No Mercy’, though. He also punished him with some thudding punches to the head. To be honest, the Russian fighter did very well to survive the onslaught, particularly as he had to defend on two fronts.
Whether or not these two men end up contesting a trilogy bout in the future is a valid question to ask right now, and the quick answer would probably be yes. Regardless, it’s clear that while they were closely matched last night, the most explosive round came from Sterling, and so ‘Funk Master’ should be seen as a valid champion at this stage.
#4. Aleksei Oleinik demonstrates his deadly grappling once again
Given that he was coming off three straight losses and turned 44 years old last June, fans would definitely have been forgiven for writing off Aleksei Oleinik at this stage. However, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ turned the clock back last night by pulling off a stunning victory that netted him a $50,000 bonus in the process.
Faced with a giant, if slightly unheralded opponent in the form of Jared Vanderaa, Oleinik looked to be in trouble early on when the fight hit the mat.
‘The Mountain’ managed to take the back of the veteran and appeared to be about to choke him out in what would’ve been a rare submission defeat for Oleinik. However, the Ukraine native had plenty in the tank.
Somehow, he was able to cause a scramble that allowed him to turn the tables on his larger opponent, taking Vanderaa’s back before quickly hopping into side mount as his opponent attempted to roll free.
From there, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ locked up a neck crank variant, squeezed with all his might, and forced ‘The Mountain’ to tap out.
Was this an explosive finish in the classic sense? Not quite, but the sheer brutality of the submission definitely stood out, as not only did Oleinik use beautiful technique, he also used some serious force. In the process, he showed that there’s plenty left in him yet.
#3. Mike Malott makes a devastating UFC debut with his knockout of Mickey Gall
UFC debutant Mike Malott – who is also one of the coaches at Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male – was largely flying under the radar last night coming into his welterweight bout with Mickey Gall. After his performance, it’s unlikely he’ll be off anyone’s radar again.
In what was an incredibly exciting fight, Malott and Gall went toe-to-toe throughout the first round, with both men landing some heavy blows and Gall ending up with a bad cut around his right eye. However, as the round went on, it looked like the New Jersey native was beginning to take over.
However, before he could really capitalize on his momentum, Gall simply left himself far too open and ‘Proper Mike’ countered him as he stepped forward. A right-left combination switched Gall’s lights out completely, and he fell to the ground face-first in a scary scene.
It was a brutal finish from Malott on his octagon debut. He stated after the fight that he’d be giving half of his purse to help a teammate’s daughter fight cancer, which endeared him to the crowd even more. Essentially, his first bout in the big show couldn’t have gone any better.
#2. Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns produce the best fight of 2022 thus far
Coming into UFC 273, the fight that appeared to be garnering the most hype was the welterweight clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns. Thankfully, the bout lived up to every expectation and turned out to be probably the best fight of 2022 thus far.
From the first moment of the opening round to the final seconds of the third, this clash was absolutely full of explosive action, with both men landing huge shots that probably would’ve put most fighters away.
The first round saw ‘Borz’ drop Burns heavily with a right hand, before pouncing in an attempt to finish him off. The second saw ‘Durinho’ hurt his Chechen foe on more than one occasion, forcing Chimaev to show a surprisingly excellent chin.
The third, meanwhile, was equally dramatic and saw Chimaev land the heavier blows in the exchanges, which managed to earn him a unanimous decision win. In the end, neither man backed down, and so neither looked like a loser.
Overall, while there wasn’t a finish in this bout, there was enough action from beginning to end to make it an instant classic. It was the kind of fight that UFC fans will go back to rewatch multiple times in the future.
#1. Alexander Volkanovski retains his UFC featherweight title in violent fashion
UFC 273’s headline bout saw featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski defend his title in dominant fashion over Chan Sung Jung. While it took him four rounds to finish off ‘The Korean Zombie’, it’s safe to say that he did so in explosive fashion in the end.
In reality, the fight should never have gone into the fourth. ‘The Great’, who had beaten down Jung from the start of the first round, landed a seriously vicious knockdown late in the third and then hammered this opponent on the ground afterwards.
While Volkanovski couldn’t quite seal the deal before the buzzer sounded, Jung was unable to get to his feet and was essentially carried to his corner. That probably should’ve been enough for the fight to be called off. Instead, despite a doctor checking on the challenger, it was allowed to go on.
Thankfully, referee Herb Dean was firmly on the ball, and when Volkanovski landed a vicious right hand that snapped Jung’s head back early in the fourth round, he stepped in with ‘The Korean Zombie’ still on his feet.
It was an excellent stoppage from Dean, and while it would’ve been more explosive had Volkanovski been allowed to finish Jung, it also would’ve been criminally unfair to the challenger. In the end, Alexander 'The Great’ Volkanovski picked up a huge win with his first TKO since 2018 and closed the UFC 273 pay-per-view with a bang.
