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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Alexander Volkanovski‘s newest featherweight title protection is official.
Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung, higher often called “The Korean Zombie,” each weighed in Friday at 144.5 kilos. Volkanovski will defend his UFC featherweight belt towards Jung in the primary occasion of UFC 273 on Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Enviornment.
ESPN has Volkanovski ranked No. four on this planet pound-for-pound. At featherweight, Volkanovski is ranked No. 1 and Jung is No. 9.
Volkanovski (23-1) has gained 20 fights in a row, together with his first 10 within the UFC. The Australia native is coming off a unanimous resolution win over Brian Ortega at UFC 266 final September. Volkanovski, 33, has two profitable title defenses after beating Max Holloway to win the belt at UFC 245 in December 2019.
Jung (17-6) is coming off a unanimous resolution win over Dan Ige final June. The Korea native has gained three of his previous 4 fights. Jung, 35, challenged for the featherweight title in 2013 towards Jose Aldo, the longest time period between title fights in UFC historical past.
Within the co-main occasion, champion Aljamain Sterling and interim champ Petr Yan will unify the UFC bantamweight title. Sterling weighed in at 134.5 kilos and Yan hit the mark at 134.
Sterling (20-3) gained the UFC bantamweight title through disqualification when Yan landed an unlawful knee on him at UFC 259 in March 2021. The 32-year-old New York native has gained six straight.
Sterling acquired very emotional whereas weighing in, bending over earlier than stepping on the dimensions almost in tears and rubbing his eyes whereas on the dimensions. He’s coming off neck surgical procedure.
“Lots of people wrote me off and thought my profession was just about over, they did not assume that I might come again after that surgical procedure,” Sterling stated on the UFC’s weigh-in present. … “I felt just like the music had stopped, I am simply glad I acquired one other alternative.”
Yan (16-2) is ESPN’s No. 6-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. The 29-year-old Russian has gained 11 of his previous 12 fights, the lone loss to Sterling. Yan gained the interim title by beating Cory Sandhagen through unanimous resolution at UFC 267 final October.
One other extremely anticipated matchup at UFC 273 pits former title challenger Gilbert Burns towards Khamzat Chimaev, among the best prospects in UFC historical past. Each males weighed in at 170 kilos on the dot.
Kay Hansen missed weight at 118.5 kilos, 2.5 kilos over the 116-pound non-title restrict. Hansen’s bout with Piera Rodriguez will go on as scheduled with Hansen forfeiting 20% of her purse to Rodriguez.
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