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This weekend sees the UFC visit Jacksonville, Florida for UFC 273. It’s safe to say that we could be in for a hell of an event.
UFC 273 not only features two title bouts, but a star-studded undercard with some of the world’s best fighters looking to make an impact in the octagon.
So with so much on the line and so many fighters looking to ensure that they climb the ladder, we could well be in for some highly exciting fights.
With that in mind, here are five reasons why UFC 273 could be an all-time classic event.
#5. UFC 273’s undercard features some excellent fighters in action
A loaded undercard doesn’t always make an event a classic one, but it obviously goes some way to helping in that matter. While it isn’t too high in name value, there are some truly excellent fighters in action on this weekend’s preliminary card.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Marcin Tybura are both top 10-ranked heavyweights and the clash of styles between the two should ensure that someone gets hurt, probably early on. Aspen Ladd remains one of the better prospects in the 135-pound division and if she can beat Raquel Pennington, she’ll put herself right back into title contention.
Elsewhere, the unbeaten Ian Garry looks like a highly-exciting prospect who comes to finish his fights, making his clash with Darian Weeks worth watching. Meanwhile, Olympic wrestler Mark Madsen remains one of the better prospects in the lightweight division and will be tested by veteran Vinc Pichel.
Meanwhile, the likes of Mickey Gall, Aleksei Oleinik and Julio Arce rarely put on bad fights, meaning that even the early preliminary bouts could end up giving us some highlight-reel finishes.
Basically, there’s a chance that all of the fights on offer this weekend could produce at least some fireworks, giving the event a high chance of being considered a classic one when all is said and done.
#4. Mackenzie Dern’s clash with Tecia Torres could produce fireworks
Traditionally, clashes in the octagon between a striker and a grappler tend to either deliver an absolute thriller, or something pretty dull. With any luck, the strawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Tecia Torres this weekend will fall into the former category.
Not only does this pit two of the better 115lbers in the UFC against one another, but it also represents a step up of sorts for Dern as she looks to rebound from her loss to Marina Rodriguez last year.
Torres has been around the promotion for a very long time now, dating back to the strawweight division’s inauguration in 2014. While she’s never quite ascended to title contention, she does hold wins over some excellent fighters, including Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill.
However, she’s likely to have her hands full with Dern, who is easily the best female grappler operating in the octagon right now. If she can take ‘The Tiny Tornado’ down, then there’s no doubt she can win. Getting Torres to the ground, though, should be another matter entirely.
Basically, there’s every chance that this fight will produce some really special action, particularly with Torres’ penchant for throwing wild combinations. So if it does, it could help this weekend’s event to become a classic.
#3. The UFC bantamweight title rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan has some seriously bad blood behind it
While any UFC title fight is automatically a big deal, if there’s some kind of backstory behind it, it automatically becomes even bigger still. To say this weekend’s bantamweight title bout between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan has plenty of backstory would be an understatement.
The two men first faced off last spring. While Yan seemed to be on his way to a routine decision victory, a curveball was thrown in the form of an illegal knee that rendered Sterling unable to continue. Moments later, ‘Funk Master’ was awarded the title via disqualification.
The rematch has taken quite a long time to set up – over a year in the end – during which time Yan has claimed an interim title, If anything, that’s only made the spotlight on this clash even bigger.
Sterling and Yan seemed respectful of one another going into their first fight, but that doesn’t appear to be the case now.
Not only is Sterling desperate to prove his worth after his controversial title win, but it’s safe to say that there’s plenty of bad blood between he and ‘No Mercy’, especially after he accused Yan of using performance enhancing drugs.
Basically, this feels like the biggest bantamweight title fight in the UFC since Henry Cejudo departed the promotion in 2020 and could catapult the winner towards super-stardom. More to the point, if the two men fight to their potential, it could also make UFC 273 a hugely memorable event.
#2. 'The Korean Zombie' never fails to deliver the goods
Alexander Volkanovski is undoubtedly the best featherweight on the planet right now and it’s arguable that he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC, too. The one knock on the Australian, though, might be that his fights rarely end in a finish.
The champ has gone the distance in his last four bouts. While they were all exciting, particularly his most recent one against Brian Ortega, it should be more interesting to see him in action this weekend.
That’s because opponent Chan Sung Jung, better known as ‘The Korean Zombie’, is perhaps the most aggressive fighter in the division. While he isn’t as skilled as Ortega or Max Holloway, he’s likely to look to take the fight to Volkanovski like never before.
Basically, Jung never fails to deliver an exciting fight inside the octagon, with his battles against Yair Rodriguez, Dustin Poirier and Leonard Garcia being widely seen as true classics.
Therefore, if the Korean can take the fight to Volkanovski and force the Aussie into a more violent performance than ever before, we could be in for some real fireworks in this weekend’s headline bout, turning UFC 273 into an instant classic.
#1. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns has the aura of a seriously big UFC fight
Over the years, we’ve seen numerous non-title fights in the UFC that were somehow able to completely overshadow the title bouts that they shared an event with, with fights such as Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards immediately coming to mind.
While there’s no guarantee that Khamzat Chimaev’s clash with Gilbert Burns will join those fights, there’s definitely an underlying feeling that this welterweight bout is actually the most intriguing one on offer this weekend.
It’s been years, probably since the rise of McGregor himself, that a prospect garnered quite as much hype as Chimaev is doing right now. If anything, it could be argued that ‘Borz’ is even more of a blue chip, given that he’s only had four fights in the octagon thus far.
This weekend, though, marks his biggest test to date. Burns is not only a former welterweight title challenger, but he’s one of the best 170lbers in the world. He holds victories over Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, and his last win was a shutout against Stephen Thompson.
It’s still hard to shake off the idea, though, that if one of these fighters produces something special this weekend, it’s going to be Chimaev.
Essentially, we’re going to see ‘Borz’ prove exactly why he’s such a highly-touted fighter, or we’re going to see his hype train come to a crashing end. Either way, this fight is a must-see affair and if it delivers the goods, it could make this weekend’s event into a classic.
