The much anticipated UFC 273 is here and our UFC Best Bets have all of the coverage you need before getting in on the action this weekend.
We are looking at an absolutely stacked card for UFC 273, on March 5th. As the main event is a Featherweight Title fight.
Read on below to find out UFC Best Bets for this weekend’s UFC 273!
Alexander Volkanovski vs Chan Sung Jung – (Featherweight Title)
Alexander Volkanovski is the reigning and defending UFC Featherweight Champion of the world. He comes into this fight with a near-perfect record of 23-1, as he faces one of his toughest challenges yet. Standing at 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds with a reach of 71 inches, Volkanovski is a hard man to beat, as seen by his one loss in 24 professional fights.
He had competed at not only Featherweight but Lightweight and Welterweight as well over the span of his career. He has won championships all over the globe, and for several different promotions. He is on a twenty fight win streak and ten of those wins have come in the UFC, where he is a perfect 10-0. 11 of his 23 wins have come by knockout, while 3 have been by submission and nine by decision. Seven of his nine decision wins have come inside of his ten fight UFC career. In fact it’s been three and a half years since he has knocked someone out.
Chan Sung Jung, or as everyone usually calls him “The Korean Zombie” comes into this fight looking to win his first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship Belt. In fact this would be his first championship in his entire Mixed Martial Arts career if he were to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski in this one. He comes into this fight with a 17-6 record in 23 professional fights. Standing at 5 foot 9 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds with a reach of 72 inches. In his last fight he defeated Dan Ige by Unanimous Decision back in June of 2021.
After some brief appearances in the Lightweight division he has primarily fought at Featherweight since 2008. He holds several black belts in different forms of Martial Arts including Hapkido, Taekwondo, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He got his nickname because he was able to stand up and move forward after taking a lot of damage in fights. He has enough power to finish you but also enough technical ability to submit you as well as 14 of his 17 wins have come by knockout or submission while only 3 have come by a judge’s decision. This is his second opportunity to win a title in the UFC, in his first chance he lost to Jose Aldo. As for the result of this fight I have him losing again in this one by decision after a tough five round, 25 minute fight.
Tony’s UFC Pick: Alexander Volkanovski (-770), By Points (-120)
Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan – (Bantamweight Title)
It’s fair to say this one might be the most anticipated fight of the evening as it could finally be the night Petr Yan gets his crowning moment and becomes a UFC champion once again. In their fight Yan dominated the entire contest until an illegal knee stopped the fight and awarded the victory to Sterling. Truthfully had their original fight not been stopped then Petr Yan would likely be the UFC Bantamweight Champion of the world right now. This one is going to be the best fight on the card, and I’m not sure how it’s not the main event and the headliner as Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan is going to be a potential fight of the year candidate.
The current UFC Bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling comes into this fight on a six fight win streak. He has not lost a fight since December of 2017, when he was knocked out by Marlon Moraes at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs Ortega. Now he will look to make his first defense of the Bantamweight strap against the man he won it from despite the victory being surrounded by controversy. Sterling comes into this fight standing five feet seven inches tall with a weight of 135 pounds and a reach of 71 inches. Overall in his Mixed Martial Arts career he holds a record of 20-3, while in the UFC he holds a record of 12-3. He is a submission artist as only 2 of his 20 career wins have come by knockout, while 8 have been by submission, 9 by decision and 1 by disqualification, which is the story in this one.
Petr Yan comes into this fight looking to win back the UFC Bantamweight Championship that he should’ve never lost. “No Mercy” truly lives up to his nickname as he is one of the most dominant fighters in recent memory. If you don’t count his disqualification loss to Sterling, Yan has not been defeated in over six years and has never been knocked out or submitted in the UFC in his nine career fights in the North American promotion. I think that streak continues today as I look for Yan to pick up the win over Sterling and regain his UFC championship by unanimous decision.
Tony’s UFC Pick: Petr Yan (-430), By points (+125)
Gilbert Burns vs Khamzat Chimaev – (Welterweight)
Gilbert Burns comes into this fight standing at five feet ten inches tall, weighing 170 rounds and with a reach of 71 inches long. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission artist has a career record of 20-4. He is the number two overall ranked fighter in the Welterweight division and a win in this matchup could set him for a future title opportunity down the line. He is still somewhat new to the Welterweight division after spending the first seven years of his professional career in the Lightweight division. This fight against Khamzat Chimaev is only his seventh fight at Welterweight. He has already had an opportunity to win the Welterweight title from Kamaru Usman in February of 2021 but he lost by knockout. Six of his 20 career wins have been by knockout, while eight have come by submission and six by decision.
Khamzat Chimaev comes into this fight standing at six feet two inches tall, weighing 170 pounds and has a reach of 75 inches. He holds a record for the fastest consecutive wins in UFC history as he won two fights in the span of ten days over John Phillips and Rhys McKee in July of 2020. He also holds the record for the fastest three fight wins in UFC history when he added a victory over Gerald Meerschaert in October of 2020. He is a perfect 10-0 in his professional Mixed Martial Arts career and four of those wins have come in the UFC. With a win in this one he could set himself up for a potential title fight down the line as well. As for the result of this fight I’m taking Burns by submission.
Tony’s UFC Pick: Gilbert Burns (+380), By Submission (+1400)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of Fanduel.
