It’s been a busy few days for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) matchmakers. After Max Holloway was forced out of a trilogy fight against current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, which was set for UFC 272 on March 5, 2022, the promotion had to scramble for a new contender to take on “The Great.”
Not long after it was reported that a five-round welterweight fight between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington would be the new headliner for UFC 272 in Las Vegas, Nevada, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that Chan Sung Jung would be stepping in for Holloway to take on Volkanovski at UFC 273, which is set for April 9 at a location that has yet to be determined.
Also, a rematch between current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder, Petr Yan, has been moved from UFC 272 and will now co-headline UFC 273, instead. As it stands, there is not a co-headlining act booked for UFC 272, but expect that to change in the coming days.
Jung hasn’t competed since he defeated Dan Ige in June 2021, which was his first victory since defeating Frankie Edgar in Dec. 2019 via knockout. Sandwiched in between those fights is a unanimous decision loss to Brian Ortega. There were several fighters eager to step in to face Volkanovski, including Henry Cejudo and Giga Chikadze, but the grand prize ultimately went to “The Korean Zombie.”
As always, keep it tuned to MMA Mania as more details emerge and matchups are announced for both of these PPV cards.