Jacksonville will be the host for two title fights and a Welterweight bout with major division implications this weekend. With Alexander Volkanovski looking to continue his dominance in the Featherweight division we first heard of a super fight between arguably the best boxer in MMA, Max Holloway, competing for a third time. But with Max having to pull out due to injury only two days after the fight was announced the UFC immediately was on the search for a replacement. Many jumped at the opportunity to fight for the title but nothing actually made sense. Alexander Volkanovski has been supremely dominant since the moment he walked into the UFC, and trying to find a worthy opponent for him was no easy task. Not more than a week later the UFC announced that they were going to have Volkanovski take on Chan Sung Jung for the Featherweight title. With a main card in place, we also have the highly anticipated rematch between current Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and interim Champion Petr Yan. With their first fight ending in controversy a little over a year ago, this is a fight that needs to happen. With both the main and co main event being title fights, it is surprising that the most intriguing fight on the card is not either one of those match ups. It is not often we see such a rising star like Khamzat Chimaev, and this weekend we will see him take on his toughest opponent yet! Gilbert Burns is a UFC veteran who also like Chimaev was an undefeated prodigy on the rise. With these two set to clash, this will definitely be a litmus test for Khamzat.
When the UFC initially announced that the Korean Zombie would be replacing Max Holloway for the main event I was less than thrilled. After thinking about the fight for a couple weeks and also watching a ton of footage of Chan Sung Jung the fight began to make a little more sense. Right now currently in the Featherweight division there is no clear cut contender for Volkanovski, but with him being as dominant as he has been it does make sense to give him a new opponent rather than someone he has already beaten. The Korean Zombie has some impressive wins on his record, he has beaten top tier fighters such as; Dustin Poirier, Frankie Edgar, and most recently a very dominant win over Dan Ige. Even with all this being said, I don't really see any area where Jung can pose much of a threat to Alexander.
With the main event locked in place, does Vegas see any chance that Jung can pull off the upset? MONEYLINE: Alexander Volkanovski (-720) / Chan Sung Jung (+500)
TOTAL ROUNDS:
Over 4.5 (-155) / Under 4.5 (+125)
After seeing those odds it looks pretty clear to me that Vegas sees this being a one sided affair...but can you blame them? In Alexander's last fight we saw him in some serious trouble, but we also saw the heart of a champion on full display. He was able to free himself from two deep submission attempts from Brian Ortega then proceeded to put a beating on him for it. Ortega looked as good as he could possibly be against Volkanovski, but even that was not enough. Alexander has never tasted defeat inside the Octagon, holding a perfect 10-0 record. He has made the Featherweight division his own and this weekend he will look to continue his reign.
With all this being said it should be pretty obvious that I am siding with Alexander Volkanovski (-720). After watching him mangle Ortega for five rounds I don't see any way for Jung to have an edge. We cannot forget that Ortega and the Korean Zombie also shared the Octagon not too long ago, and Brian dominated from bell to bell. With such heavy odds I will not be placing any bet on the moneyline as it is way too steep to make any actual money off it, but I will be placing a bet on Under 4.5 Rounds (+125). Alex is somehow continuing to improve each fight, and with his last four fights all going to the judges I believe this weekend he makes another statement outclassing Jung until he eventually breaks in the Championship rounds. Look for this to be another beating handed out from "the Great" that will inevitably lead to another title defense, and possibly moving himself higher up the ranks for top pound for pound fighter in the world.
With a loaded card and plenty of chances to make some real money this weekend here are some of my top bets for UFC 273.
TOP BETS FOR THIS CARD:
PARLAY OPPURTUNITY:
Ian Garry (-350) + Petr Yan (-450)
Odds Combined: -165
Jairzinho Rozenstruik / Marcin Tybura
Jairzinho Rozenstruik -140
Vinc Pichel / Mark Madsen
Mark Madsen +110
Tecia Torres / Mackenzie Dern
Tecia Torres +110
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