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.
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.
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.
Continue Reading »
UFC 273 Prelims: Hyped Irish Prospect Garry Outpoints Weeks