By Ken Andrew
kenakikenyi@gmail.com
Photo courtesy : UFC KOREA instagram page
Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski defended his title in a one sided battle against the Korean Zombie. Volkanovski, who looked faster than ever on the feet, managed to win after a round four stoppage by the referee. Many at the arena seemed to back the Korean Zombie but it was not to be his day as Volkanovski put on a clinic. The win became Volkanovski’s third title defence and with the shape he was in, he seems to have more defences to come.
The co-main event saw Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling renew their rivalry. The two had met at UFC 259 in a fight which ended controversially after an illegal strike by Yan. Though Yan was very dominant in the first fight, things were different this time as Aljo showed heart and managed to completely dominate two rounds. Aljo used his wrestling and grappling skills to ensure he got the win. Without any controversy in the fight, the win means that Aljo is the undisputed UFC Bantamweight champion.
Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev put up an instant classic in the fight before the co-main event. Many had wondered how lowly Chimaev would do against the number two ranked burns and he surely held his own. Both fighters landed punches that dropped the other and showed heart to go the distance in what was the fight of the night. at the end, Chimaev won the bout by unanimous decision but that takes nothing away from Burns’ perfromance. The fight could probably even win fight of the year!
With the upsets and shocks experienced at UFC 273, it becomes one of the best events of the year thus far.