BREAKING: Alexander Volkanovski Gets New Opponent for UFC 273 After Max Holloway Falls Out

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will face off against Chan Sung Jung as the headliner for UFC 273. The co-main event for the card is also confirmed to be the long-awaited rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan for bantamweight glory.

The venue for the aforementioned fight card is yet to be determined, however, Brooklyn remains unlikely.

Alexander ‘The Great’ was originally slated to face off against former champion Max Holloway in a high-profile trilogy contest. However, after ‘Blessed’ withdrew, several fighters threw their name in the hat. Chan Sung Jung was one of those fighters and Alexander Volkanovski returned the favor by expressing a desire to fight him.

The Korean Zombie beat out names like Giga Chikadze and even Henry Cejudo to ensure he got an opportunity to fight Volkanovski. He was the highest-ranked featherweight fighter who was coming off a win in his last fight. Other marquee names like Calvin Kattar and Brian Ortega were all coming off losses in their previous outings.

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Alexander Volkanovski vs Chan Sung Jung: How did we get here?

Volkanovski is fresh off a successful title defense in his last fight at UFC 266. The City Kickboxing stand-out was dominant throughout the fight, barring some adversity on the ground. ‘T-City’ wrapped up Volkanovski in several deep submission attempts, however, Volkanovski managed to survive and prevail.

‘The Korean Zombie’ put on a clinic in his last fight against Dan Ige and showed that he belongs at the very top. The South Korean fighter was coming off a disappointing loss to Brian Ortega, and he was keen to bring things back on track. He now has the opportunity to turn back the clock and relive his days of dominance by becoming the undisputed UFC champion.

A win over ‘TKZ’ would be a massive feather in the cap of Volkanovski, who wants to cement his legacy as champion. His close and controversial fights against Max Holloway have left a sour taste in the mouths of some fans and he’s slowly managing to charter his own course.

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