The UFC 273 main card features five bouts, all five of which will be previewed in this post. It is capped the featherweight championship bout between reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski (pictured upper left) and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (pictured above right). It also will see a grudge title unification bout between champion Aljamain Sterling (pictured lower left) and interim champ Petr Yan (pictured lower right) after their controversial bout last year. And, the fight everyone is looking forward to is a pivotal welterweight showdown between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev. All win probabilities are based on a fighter’s CC Rating and their place in the CC Rankings.

You can find the previews for the prelim bouts HERE and HERE.

Vinc Pichel vs. Mark O. Madsen (Men’s Lightweight)

Vinc Pichel

• Record: 14-2-0
• Division Ranking: 20/83 lightweights
• Vegas Odds: -115 (Favorite)

Mark O. Madsen

• Record: 11-0-0
• Division Ranking: 31/83 lightweights
• Vegas Odds: -105 (Underdog)

Pichel has quietly been one of the more dominant forces in the lightweight division, winning seven of his last eight fights. A bicep and labrum injury sidelined Pichel for three years in the middle of that run. One thing that has been missing since the injury is his finishing power. Pichel had seven finishes over nine wins before the injury. Now, he has just one in his last five wins. That hasn’t however, stopped him from finding ways to outpoint his opponents and win fights. The veteran is looking to continue his march towards the top 15 before turning 40 later this year.

Madsen is a former Olympian, winning silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling. After beating Clay Guida last August, he called for a fight with Gregor Gillespie (#9 CC, #9 UFC) to determine who was the best wrestler in the division. While not getting the Gillespie matchup, Madsen is certainly in the conversation as one of the best wrestlers in the sport today. As a mixed martial artist, he remains undefeated at a perfect 11-0, finishing six of those wins (three KOs, three submissions).

Subjective Spin on Objective: Pichel’s last loss came in 2018 to the aforementioned Gillespie. While he has decent grappling, he’s shown himself to be vulnerable to elite level wrestlers in the past. That is exactly what Madsen is.

Editor’s Pick: Madsen

[9] Mackenzie Dern vs. [10] Tecia Torres (Women’s Strawweight)

Mackenzie Dern

• Record: 11-2-0
• Division Ranking: 10/44 strawweights
• Vegas Odds: -120 (Favorite)

Tecia Torres

• Record: 13-5-0
• Division Ranking: 11/44 strawweights
• Vegas Odds: +100 (Underdog)

Speaking of elite level grapplers, Dern (#9 CC, #5 UFC) is one of the very best in the UFC, irrespective of weight class or gender. She had her four-fight win streak snapped by Marina Rodriguez (#2 CC, #3 UFC) back in October. Aside from that, Dern has been difficult to stop. She’s snatched up seven submissions over just 11 wins. That includes four of her six in the UFC. Her grappling skills have translated to the highest levels.

Torres’ (#10 CC, #7 UFC) career is on the upswing. She’s riding a three-fight winning streak inside the last two years. Immediately prior, she was on a four-fight skid. In fairness, those four losses were to some of the absolute best the division has to offer in top contenders Jessica Andrade (#1 CC/fw, #1 UFC/fw), Joanna Jedrzejczyk (#3CC, NR UFC), Zhang Weili (#1 CC, #1 UFC), and the aforementioned Rodriguez. As if that weren’t enough, the fifth loss on her record came to current champ, Rose Namajunas. It requires the absolute best to take on Torres and win. SHe is one of the fastest, most precise strikers in the division.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: This is a clear battle of styles. Dern’s been tripped up in the past by Rodriguez because of her quickness and ability to stay at range. Amanda Ribas (#8 CC, #9 UFC) had enough defensive wrestling to mitigate Dern. Torres is talented, but hasn’t demonstrated an ability to stop the elite grappling of a black belt like Dern.

Editor’s Pick: Dern

[3] Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Men’s Welterweight)

Gilbert Burns

• Record: 20-4-0
• Division Ranking: 4/79 welterweights
• Vegas Odds: +370 (Underdog)

Khamzat Chimaev

• Record: 10-0-0
• Division Ranking: 28/79 welterweights
• Vegas Odds: -490 (Favorite)

Burns (#3 CC, #2 UFC) recovered nicely from his title fight loss to Kamaru Usman last year. He manhandled Stephen Thompson (NR CC, #6 UFC) for a clear unanimous decision victory in July. He’s won seven of his last eight, with Usman being the lone blemish. With 14 career finishes (six KOs, eight submissions), Burns has a great combination of striking and grappling that has made him one of the biggest threats in the division. His road back to the title shot begins now.

Chimaev (NR CC, #11 UFC) is hands down the scariest prospect in the UFC. Over four fights in the UFC, he has only successfully been hit one time, while scoring four finish wins. Over his career, he has scored finishes in each of his fights and has yet to see a fight reach the third round. This will be his biggest test by far, but no one has come close to putting him in any danger thus far. He has heavy power, but is also a high level submission artist.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: It’s so tough to know what to make of “The People’s Main Event.” On one hand, Burns is the biggest competition Chimaev has ever faced by far. On the other, his dominance can’t be ignored. Chimaev has the range, power, and grappling to neutralize Burns’ talents. The only question is whether it can all come together.

Editor’s Pick: Chimaev

[C] Aljamain Sterling vs. [IC] Petr Yan (Men’s Bantamweight Championship)

Aljamain Sterling

• Record: 20-3-0
• Division Ranking: 1/78 bantamweights
• Vegas Odds: +350 (Underdog)

Petr Yan

• Record: 16-2-0
• Division Ranking: 5/78 bantamweights
• Vegas Odds: -450 (Favorite)

Bantamweight champion Sterling is riding a six-fight win streak, with his most recent being his title win over Yan last year. Unfortunately, it came as the first and only time a title has been won due to a disqualification after Yan kneed Sterling when he was a grounded opponent. Yan was winning that fight handily up to that point. All the controversy surrounding that bout has distracted fans from the fact that Sterling is one of the best wrestlers in the division and has been dominant for years. He is not to be underestimated.

Prior to the kerfuffle with Sterling, Yan was riding a ten-fight unbeaten streak. He was well on his way to an eleventh before the illegal knee. Yan bounced back winning the interim title over Cory Sandhagen (#8 CC, #4 UFC). Yan is widely regarded as one of the best boxers in the UFC. It was that striking that was on display in the Sandhagen bout. He is ready to reclaim the belt that was once his and move forward with his reign.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: This fight will be closer than the oddsmakers suggest, but questions still remain about Sterling’s time off and injury. It is also hard to ignore that Yan was clearly winning the first bout before the untimely DQ.

Editor’s Pick: Yan

[C] Alexander Volkanovski vs. [7] Chan Sung Jung (Men’s Featherweight Championship)

Alexander Volkanovski

• Record: 23-1-0
• Division Ranking: 1/75 featherweights
• Vegas Odds: -700 (Favorite)

Chan Sung Jung

• Record: 17-6-0
• Division Ranking: 8/75 featherweights
• Vegas Odds: +500 (Underdog)

Volkanovski is riding a whopping 20-fight winning streak dating back to December 2013. He has turned his attention from being the best featherweight on the planet to being the best of all-time. With a win, he will become just the eighth fighter to ever reach a CC rating of above 2000. He has 11 knockouts in his career, but none during his title reign. He’s been a part of some exciting fights and this is sure to be another one. No doubt, he’s also looking ahead to a potential trilogy bout with Max Holloway (#1 CC, #1 UFC).

After Holloway pulled out with injury, “The Korean Zombie” Jung (#7 CC, #4 UFC) stepped up to fill the void. This will be his second crack at UFC gold, nearly 9 years after his first, when he took on then-champ Jose Aldo. The Zombie is so named because of his ability to continue forward pressure, even in the midst of intense punishment. He has been in the UFC 11 years and is one of the staples at the top of this division. He has a very well-rounded track record with 14 career finishes, being spread over six KOs and eight submissions.

Subjective Spin on Objective Reality: As fun as Zombie is to watch in the cage, taking the kind of damage he typically does will not fare well against an opponent like Volkanovski. Volkanovski is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters for a reason.

Editor’s Pick: Volkanovski

Photo Credit: ESPN