With many hands raised, the UFC has finally settled on the next title challenger at 145 pounds.
Champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] is set to defend his featherweight belt against veteran [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] at UFC 273 on April 9. The location for the event has yet to be announced.
Additionally, the bantamweight title unification bout between undisputed champ [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] and interim champ [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] has been also added to co-main event UFC 273.
MMA Junkie confirmed the news following an initial report from Ariel Helwani on Tuesday.
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Volkanovski (23-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to fight Max Holloway at UFC 272 on March 5 against Max Holloway. However, an injury forced Holloway out of the bout. Many contenders at featherweight campaigned for the title shot and the UFC has now settled in Jung (17-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC).
Meanwhile at bantamweight, this will mark the third time a fight between Sterling (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and Yan (16-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has been canceled or postponed. Yan withdrew from their first scheduled bout at UFC 256 due to personal reasons, and the fight was rebooked for UFC 259 in March. Sterling was awarded the belt via disqualification when Yan struck him with an illegal knee that rendered “The Funkmaster” unable to continue.
The rematch was set for UFC 267 in October, but this time Sterling was the one who withdrew due to lingering issues from neck surgery. Yan faced Cory Sandhagen for the interim bantamweight title instead, outlasting him in a thrilling standup battle.
Below is the updated lineup for UFC 273:
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – for featherweight title
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan – for bantamweight title
- Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
- Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker
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