Alexander Volkanovski vs. Korean Zombie set for UFC 273, Sterling-Yan 2 added as co-headliner

By Cole Shelton - January 11, 2022

Alexander Volkanovski has his next title fight set.

Alexander Volkanovski, Korean Zombie, UFC 273

Volkanovski was supposed to fight Max Holloway at UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas, in their highly-anticipated trilogy match. Yet, it was reported the Hawaiian was forced out of the bout due to an injury.

Now according to MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, Volkanovski is set to fight Korean Zombie at UFC 273 on April 9. Iridium sports agency, the management company of Chan Sung Jung, also confirmed the news on Twitter. The location of the event is TBD and it’s looking likely it will not be Brooklyn, New York anymore after recent reports said it was going to take place there.

Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) is coming off a Fight of the Year candidate in a decision win over Brian Ortega at UFC 266 to defend his belt. Prior to that, he had the back-to-back wins over Holloway to win and then defend his strap, although the second fight was controversial. He also holds notable wins over Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, and Darren Elkins among others.

Chan Sung Jung, The Korean Zombie, UFC Fight Island 6

Image via @ufc on Instagram (photographer not listed)

Korean Zombie (17-6) is currently ranked fourth at featherweight and returned to the win column last time out with a decision win over Dan Ige. In the fight before, he lost a decision to Brian Ortega which snapped his two-fight winning streak, and had he won, he likely would’ve gotten a title shot. He has fought for UFC gold once before where he lost to Aldo in a fight he dislocated his shoulder in. In his career, Jung holds notable wins over Dustin Poirier, Frankie Edgar, and Dennis Bermudez among others.

Along with Volkanovski-Zombie being added to UFC 273, the bantamweight title fight rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan has also been moved to the card. That fight was targeted to take place at UFC 272 but the promotion decided to delay it a month and have it on this card.

Who do you think will win, Alexander Volkanovski or Korean Zombie?