UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will face Chan Sung Jung, otherwise known as ‘The Korean Zombie’, in the UFC 273 main event.
The news was first reported by MMA Fighting.
Volkanovski was originally supposed to face Max Holloway in a trilogy matchup at UFC 272, but Holloway withdrew from the bout due to a reaggravated injury. After a few days of speculation, Volkanovski and the UFC opted to go with Jung as the replacement.
Volkanovski most recently defeated Brian Ortega at UFC 266. After surviving a few submission attempts throughout the fight, he put on a gritty performance and earned a unanimous decision victory.
Jung most recently put on a dominant performance against Dan Ige last June, winning a unanimous decision. He rebounded from a lopsided defeat to Ortega and an eight-month layoff.
This will be Jung’s second featherweight title shot after losing to then-champion Jose Aldo at UFC 163.
Alexander Volkanovski/Korean Zombie Will Be Co-Headlined By Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2
The co-main event for Volkanovski-Jung will be another highly-anticipated matchup between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan for the unified bantamweight title. Yan defeated Cory Sandhagen for the interim title at UFC 267.
Sterling and Yan were originally supposed to fight on that very same card, but Sterling pulled out of the fight due to lingering health issues. This time, Sterling has alleged that Yan’s decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine is the main reason for the pushback from UFC 272.
Sterling earned the bantamweight title via disqualification at UFC 259 after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fight. Sterling opted not to continue and the fight was called.
UFC 273 is planned to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, although an official location has yet to be finalized by the promotion.
What are your thoughts on Volkanovski/Korean Zombie, and Sterling-Yan 2?