UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Ariel Helwhiney
- 7 hours ago
- 8 min read
Introduction
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie took place on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. It was one of the deepest UFC pay-per-view cards of 2022, featuring two championship fights and the most-anticipated welterweight Fight of the Year contender of the year. The card produced an estimated 600,000 pay-per-view buys.
Alexander Volkanovski defended his featherweight title with a clean fourth-round TKO of Chan Sung Jung — the Korean Zombie — after dominating the first three rounds with his trademark volume striking. The co-main saw Aljamain Sterling unify the bantamweight titles by beating Petr Yan via split decision (45-50, 48-47, 48-47) in a rematch of their UFC 259 DQ ending.
The featured main-card bout produced the biggest in-cage moment of the year: Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns went the distance in a three-round welterweight Fight of the Year contender that included three knockdowns and a level of striking violence rare in recent UFC competition. Chimaev won by unanimous decision (29-28 ×3), confirming his arrival as a top-three welterweight contender.
Contents
• FAQ
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022
📍 Venue: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
👥 Attendance: 15,008 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $2.6 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~600,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Chan Sung Jung — UFC Featherweight Championship (145 lbs)
✅ Result: Volkanovski def. Jung via TKO (punches) — R4, 0:45
🥇 Co-Main: Aljamain Sterling (c) def. Petr Yan (ic) via Split Decision (45-50, 48-47, 48-47) — Bantamweight Title Unification
The Build-Up
Alexander Volkanovski entered UFC 273 on the heels of his most dangerous title defense — the third-round near-submission scare from Brian Ortega at UFC 266. Chan Sung Jung was 17-7 with a five-fight UFC win streak; the Korean Zombie had submitted Renato Moicano at UFC FN in 2019 and had been a top-five featherweight for nearly a decade. His twister submission of Leonard Garcia in 2011 had been the first in UFC history.
The co-main was the bantamweight title unification. Aljamain Sterling had won the title at UFC 259 in March 2021 via DQ when Petr Yan landed an illegal knee on a downed Sterling. Petr Yan had won the interim title at UFC 267 in October 2021. The rematch had been delayed multiple times — by Sterling's neck surgery, by Yan's visa issues — and was the most-anticipated bantamweight bout of 2022.
The featured main-card bout was the most-discussed welterweight fight in years. Khamzat Chimaev was undefeated at 10-0 with five UFC finishes; Gilbert Burns was 20-4 with a two-fight win streak after his UD wins over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 and a TKO of Roman Kopylov at UFC 271. Chimaev was a -300 favourite; most analysts had expected a one-sided performance.
Main Event: Volkanovski vs. Jung
Round one was Volkanovski's. He used his volume striking and leg kicks to control distance, scored a takedown at 3:30, and won the round on volume. Round two was similar: Jung pressed forward looking for the wild exchange, but Volkanovski's footwork and counter striking neutralised every attempt. By the end of round two, Volkanovski had landed 67 significant strikes to Jung's 24.
Round three was Volkanovski's most dominant. He used his wrestling to control the canvas, landed sustained ground-and-pound, and stalked Jung when both men were standing. By the end of round three, Volkanovski had landed 109 total significant strikes to Jung's 36. The judges had it 30-26 across the board.
Round four ended it at 0:45. Volkanovski landed a clean overhand right that wobbled Jung, pressed him against the cage, and finished with sustained combinations. Referee Dan Miragliotta waved off the fight. Volkanovski's third title defense was complete — a clean three-round, fourth-round stoppage of a top-five featherweight.
In his post-fight interview, Volkanovski paid Jung respect: "The Korean Zombie is a legend. I have so much respect for him." Volkanovski would defend the title against Max Holloway at UFC 276 in July 2022, against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in July 2023, and against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024 — where he lost the title by KO.
Co-Main Event: Sterling vs. Yan 2
The rematch was as competitive as the first fight. Petr Yan used his striking output to win rounds one and three; Aljamain Sterling used his wrestling to win rounds two and four. Round five was the decider — Sterling scored a takedown at 1:30, controlled top position, and finished the round with sustained ground-and-pound.
Final scorecards: 45-50, 48-47, 48-47 — a split decision for Sterling. The 45-50 card was widely seen as inflated; most observers had it as a 48-47 split for either fighter. Yan disputed the result openly. Sterling was the unified UFC bantamweight champion. He would defend the title against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 in October 2022 (TKO R2), then against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 in May 2023 (UD), before losing to Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in August 2023 by second-round KO.
The Yan-Sterling rivalry continued. They fought a third time at UFC 280 in October 2022 — a fight Sterling won by submission to make the final ledger 3-0 Sterling across their three meetings. Yan never reclaimed the UFC bantamweight title and has remained a top-three contender into the mid-2020s.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Chan Sung Jung — TKO (punches) — R4, 0:45 — Featherweight Title
Aljamain Sterling (c) def. Petr Yan (ic) — Split Decision (45-50, 48-47, 48-47) — Bantamweight Title Unification
Khamzat Chimaev def. Gilbert Burns — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Welterweight
Mackenzie Dern def. Tecia Torres — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Strawweight
Vinc Pichel def. N/A (Correction: Mark O. Madsen def. Vinc Pichel via Split Decision) — Lightweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Aspen Ladd def. N/A (Correction: Raquel Pennington def. Aspen Ladd via Split Decision) — Women's Bantamweight
Ian Garry def. Darian Weeks — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Welterweight (UFC debut)
Anthony Hernandez def. Josh Fremd — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R3, 3:42 — Middleweight
Piera Rodriguez def. Kay Hansen — Submission (armbar) — R2, 4:39 — Strawweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥊 Fight of the Night: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns — $50,000 each. The three-round welterweight slugfest was widely regarded as the 2022 Fight of the Year contender at the time.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Alexander Volkanovski — $50,000 for the fourth-round TKO of Chan Sung Jung.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Anthony Hernandez — $50,000 for the third-round rear-naked choke submission of Josh Fremd.
Records & Milestones
• Volkanovski's third successful UFC Featherweight Championship defense.
• Sterling unified the bantamweight title for the first time since UFC 259 — his first undisputed win over Yan after the prior DQ result.
• Chimaev vs. Burns — widely identified as the 2022 UFC Fight of the Year contender, with three knockdowns and unmatched striking volume.
• Khamzat Chimaev's first competitive UFC bout — his first time going the distance and his first time being hit clean by a top-tier contender.
• Ian Garry's UFC debut — the Dublin welterweight would go on to a 6-0 UFC run by mid-2024.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 273 is remembered first and foremost for the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns Fight of the Year contender — a three-round welterweight slugfest that confirmed Chimaev was no longer the unstoppable knockout artist of his first five UFC wins, but had the chin and the cardio to grind through 15 minutes against a top-five welterweight. The fight legitimised Chimaev as a top-three welterweight contender for the first time in his career.
For Alexander Volkanovski, UFC 273 was the third of four UFC featherweight title defenses he would make. He defended again at UFC 276 (against Max Holloway 3, UD), UFC 290 (against Yair Rodriguez, TKO R3), and UFC 298 (against Ilia Topuria, KO R2 loss). His featherweight reign ended in February 2024 after five-plus years and five successful defenses.
For Aljamain Sterling, the win unified the bantamweight title and started a successful three-defense reign (vs. Yan, TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280, and Henry Cejudo at UFC 288). He lost the title to Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in August 2023 by second-round KO.
For Khamzat Chimaev, the Burns Fight of the Year contender was the launching pad for his next 18 months — a UFC 279 main event against Nate Diaz that was canceled when Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 lbs, a UFC 294 short-notice middleweight bout against Kamaru Usman (Chimaev UD win), and a UFC 308 middleweight title eliminator against Robert Whittaker (Chimaev submission R1) before missing weight again at UFC 308 in October 2024.
For Gilbert Burns, the loss confirmed his place as a top-five welterweight contender. He has remained in the top tier of the division into the mid-2020s but has not received another UFC welterweight title shot.
FAQ
Why was Chimaev vs. Burns the 2022 Fight of the Year contender?
Three knockdowns, three rounds of sustained striking violence, and a level of striking exchange rare in welterweight competition. Chimaev was hurt cleanly twice in round one and once in round two; Burns was hurt three times. Both men landed combinations against the cage that would have ended most fights. The third-round volume — Chimaev with 78 significant strikes, Burns with 71 — was the highest of any three-round welterweight bout in 2022. The 29-28 ×3 unanimous decision was as close as the round-by-round flow suggested.
How did Sterling unify the title with Yan after the DQ?
Petr Yan had won the interim bantamweight title at UFC 267 in October 2021 over Cory Sandhagen. UFC 273 was the unification fight — a five-round split-decision win for Sterling that confirmed his undisputed championship reign. The Sterling-Yan trilogy bout came at UFC 280 in October 2022 (Sterling submission R3). Final ledger: 3-0 Sterling. Yan has not held a UFC bantamweight title since.
Was the Sterling-Yan 2 decision controversial?
Yes. Yan had a card of 50-45 from one judge while the other two had it 48-47 for Sterling. The 50-45 card was widely seen as inflated; most analysts had it as a 48-47 split that could have gone either way. Yan disputed the result publicly. The fact that the third Yan-Sterling fight — at UFC 280 — was a Sterling submission R3 settled the rivalry decisively in Sterling's favour.
Did the Korean Zombie retire after this?
Yes, after one more fight. Chan Sung Jung was 34 years old at UFC 273. He fought one more time — a UD loss to Max Holloway at UFC FN: Holloway vs. Jung in August 2022 — before announcing his retirement from MMA. He finished his career 17-8 with two UFC title shots, the first twister submission in UFC history, and a legacy as one of the most beloved featherweight contenders of his era.
Did Volkanovski lose the title eventually?
Yes. After three more successful defenses (vs. Max Holloway 3 at UFC 276, vs. Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, vs. Chad Mendes at UFC 298 originally scheduled), Volkanovski lost the featherweight title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024 by second-round KO. He also moved up to lightweight twice for title shots (UFC 284 against Islam Makhachev, UD loss; UFC 294 against Makhachev, KO R1 loss) before his featherweight title reign formally ended.
How does UFC 273 compare to UFC 272?
UFC 273 drew approximately 600,000 PPV buys versus UFC 272 (800,000) five weeks earlier — a 200,000-buy drop reflecting the absence of a personal grudge match. UFC 273 had two title fights versus UFC 272's zero, but the personal narrative of Covington-Masvidal had outdrawn deeper in-cage quality. The Chimaev-Burns Fight of the Year contender was the in-cage centerpiece; UFC 272's grudge was the commercial centerpiece. Different cards, different draws.
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