5 reasons why UFC 273 could turn out to be an all-time classic event

#4. Mackenzie Dern’s clash with Tecia Torres could produce fireworks

Mackenzie Dern will be hoping to pull off a big win over Tecia Torres this weekend

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.

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#3. The UFC bantamweight title rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan has some seriously bad blood behind it

There's likely to be bad blood in the air when Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan face off in their rematch this weekend

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.