10 Things I Like at UFC 273

With two championship bouts and plenty of additional goodness on tap, there is plenty to enjoy this weekend in Jacksonville

There really is something to be said for coming out of a one week break with a standout pay-per-view offering.

Sure, I’d be excited for a regular old Fight Night show this weekend after spending last Saturday trying to find ways to amuse myself all afternoon and into the evening, but to come back with two terrific championship fights atop a card filled with compelling matchups gets the excitement level up even higher and has me already counting down the hours until the fights get underway.

(for those wondering, it’s 54 hours from the start of UFC 273 right now)

Here’s what excites me most about Saturday’s fight card in Jacksonville.

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Alexander Volkanovski is Fighting

I’m always going to be pumped up to see Volkanovski step into the Octagon because I genuinely think he’s the best fighter on the planet right now, and while he’s not the flashiest, not the most popular on social media, the featherweight champion is exceptional in between those eight walls and that is what matters most to me.

This feels like an opportunity for Vollkanovski to force people to recognize his talents and overall greatness because a win on Saturday brings him even with Max Holloway in terms of successful title defences, make him 11-0 in the UFC, and push his overall winning streak to 21. Those are all absurd numbers and the fact that his resume would go Mendes > Aldo > Holloway > Holloway > Ortega > TKZ is bonkers.

Some folks are never going to back him or give him his due because they #TeamBlessed and still salty about how the second fight was scored (as if it’s Volk’s fault or he should decline the win), but the guy is technically sharp and a masterful tactician, plus he’s actually quite engaging and likeable too.

Chan Sung Jung is a dangerous assignment for anyone and will force Volkanovski to be sharp, but I truly believe we’re going to see the best version of the Australian champion to date this weekend, and I cannot wait.

Finally Getting Sterling-Yan II

UFC 267 took place on my birthday and I was pumped for it to include the rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan.

The first fight was fascinating to me and I was eager to see the newly minted rivals run it back and settle their differences, but then Sterling wasn’t cleared medically and the sequel had to be pushed back. Yan stayed on the card and squared off with Cory Sandhagen, pairing with the Elevation Fight Team representative to deliver an outstanding fight, but there was something missing — the palpable tension and genuine animus that exists between the two bantamweight standouts.

Now Sterling is cleared and Yan arrives with an interim title, upping the stakes in this one, just in case they weren’t already high enough.

I talked to both parties before this fight and they have very different mindsets heading into Saturday’s co-main event: Sterling wants to prove he’s the better man and show what he can do now that he’s fully healthy and not going to make the same mistakes he did last time, while Yan wants to punish the New Yorker and make it crystal clear who the best fighter in the 135-pound weight class is at the moment.

No matter how it plays out — 25 seconds or 25 minutes — this is going to be an “edge of your seat, butterflies in your chest” type of deal and I’m going to love every single second of it.

Bantamweight Gets Moving Again

In addition to finally getting the rematch and resolving things at the top of the division, crossing Sterling-Yan II off the list of fights that need to happen also means that things at bantamweight can get moving again.

As much as there have been a ton of great fights since their first encounter last March, Yan’s interim title win in October kind of put things on hold a little and made it difficult to really map out how to line everyone up in the division these last couple months because things need to be settled between these two first in order to know who is going to claim the throne.

There are only a couple names that make sense as the next potential title challenger — TJ Dillashaw and Jose Aldo — and everyone else in the Top 15 needs to start getting booked (save for Rob Font and Marlon Vera, who are booked against each other later this month) so we can get things humming in the division again.

There are too many exciting potential matchups and dynamic possible pairings for the 135-pound ranks to sit idle for too long, and now that the title situation is going to be resolved, we can start looking ahead to what comes next.

Chimaev’s Big Test

I hated each time Khamzat Chimaev was booked in against Leon Edwards because at the time, he was 3-0 in the UFC and Edwards was on an eight-fight winning streak. As impressive as the newcomer had been, his efforts didn’t merit facing someone as accomplished as Edwards, who had more than earned the opportunity to face another elite contender, if not the champion.

I’m still not sure mauling Li Jingliang should carry you into a clash with the guy ranked No. 2 in the division, but here we are, with Chimaev set to square off with Gilbert Burns in the middle fight of Saturday’s main card and the most anticipated bout of the evening.

Regardless of how I feel about the pairing, this is what we’ve all been waiting for, right? The chance to see Chimaev in the cage with a bonafide contender — someone whose level and quality are clearly established — so we can definitively say whether the unbeaten ascending talent is ready to challenge for championship gold or still needs a little work.

This kind of matchup is a testament to the power of social media and buzz in today’s MMA landscape, as facing someone like Burns in your fifth UFC fight, barely a year after he challenged for the welterweight title, would have been unheard of even a handful of years ago. Some of that comes down to “Durinho” being a willing dance partner and welcoming the opportunity, but it’s largely because the masses have gotten behind Chimaev en masse and don’t want to see him methodically work his way up the divisional ladder.

By Sunday morning, we’re going to have answers to all the questions that remain about Chimaev, and better idea of where he fits in the welterweight division.

Mackenzie Dern at a Busy Intersection

I didn’t want to say that Dern is at a career crossroads because she just turned 29, is 11-2 for her career, 6-2 in the UFC, and firmly entrenched in the Top 10 at strawweight, but I do think Saturday’s bout with Tecia Torres is a crucial one for the Brazilian jiu jitsu standout, which is why I landed on her being at a busy intersection.

Doing the revisionist history thing on someone’s resume sucks and I won’t do it with Dern, who has earned some very good wins and lost to a couple very talented fighters in Amanda Ribas and Marina Rodriguez. What I do think, however, is that Dern is someone that needs to round out her game and show considerable improvement in her striking and/or wrestling in order to really thrive in this division, and I’m curious to see what improvements she’s made this weekend.

Torres is tough to pin down and hem in, especially in a big Octagon, and her striking is technical, crisp, and comes at a steady clip, all of which could be troublesome for Dern if she hasn’t figured out better, more efficient ways to get into her grappling bag this weekend. She’s been willing to sling hands at times, but Torres is the kind of fighter that will pick her apart in space and avoid the big shots if Dern looks to stand with her (I think), and so this feels like it has the potential to be a bit of a referendum on her place and future in the division.

Now, none of that is to say that she won’t ever progress from here if she loses, but simply that this fight is going to be very instructive in terms of identifying where she’s at in her development and what she really needs to work on in order to be considered a legitimate contender in the 115-pound weight class in the future.

Weekly Lightweight Goodness

Just as there are quality bantamweight fights each week, there is usually a quality lightweight fight on every show as well, and this week’s offering opens the main card.

Vinc Pichel is one of those unheralded dudes that is better than most know, understand, or acknowledge, while Mark O. Madsen has run his record to a perfect 11-0 with three straight UFC victories. Each is pushing for a date with a Top 15 opponent and standing in the other’s way, with Saturday determining which one moves forward.

This feels like another one of those fights that is going to be highly instructive when it comes to figuring out how good each of these men are and exactly where they fall in the lightweight hierarchy. Pichel has only lost to ranked competition and Madsen has gotten his hand raised every time out, so we’re know they’re better than average and closer to the Top 15 than they are the middle of the pack, but now it’s time to narrow that gap down even more.

I also think how this one shakes out will be a real eye-opener in terms of the wrestling abilities and overall skills of whomever is victorious because Pichel is a quality grappler and Madsen is an Olympic silver medalist, so either way, someone is showing they’re a level above the majority of the division, if that makes sense.

There have been a bunch of competitive, instructive lightweight fights already this year and this one should be the same, with the winner, in my opinion, likely to land opposite a Top 15 fighter or someone incredibly close to that position next time out.

Another Assignment for Ian Garry

Much like I was reticent to go all-in with Chimaev after he mauled John Phillips and Rhys McKee, I’m taking my time on declaring Garry a future UFC champion because you generally can’t tell those types of things after one fight, especially one against someone with zero UFC victories.

Now, I’ll admit that Garry showed poise, patience, and quality skills in taking everything Jordan Williams threw at him and still getting him out of there at the end of the first in his debut, and I was impressed, but again, there have been a lot of promising talents that looked good for one or two or three fights and never climbed to the top of the heap. So I’m taking a cautious approach with the undefeated Irish welterweight and eager to see how things go this weekend when he steps in with Darian Weeks.

This is an interesting fight to me because I was impressed with how Weeks acquitted himself against Bryan Barberena on short notice, but also think this is the kind of matchup that Garry should dominate if he’s as good as everyone says he is. At worst, this should be like his debut, where he finds his range and shines once he settles in, but if he’s not the all-world prospect many have professed him to be, this one could be tougher than expected.

That’s not to say he can’t get there — he’s 24, eight fights in, and working with a great team — but this one should provide a little more clarity on where he’s at right now, how quickly he can climb the ladder, and where he might top out for the time being.

A Big Week for Aspen Ladd

Ladd is the only fighter on this card that is going to be under as much scrutiny on Friday as she will be on Saturday, because before she can face Raquel Pennington, she has to face down the scale.

Making the bantamweight limit has been a challenge for the talented fighter from Northern California, and getting through weigh-ins without incident is the most important part of the week for Ladd, who turned 27 at the start of last month and, in my opinion, shouldn’t have as much difficulty making 135 pounds a couple times a year as she does. There have been too many instances where she’s either failed to make it to the scale or looked ghastly once she got there for this not to be the primary point of focus for this fight right now, and everything hinges on her hitting the bantamweight limit.

If she does, then it’s on to the next piece, which is taking on a former title challenger and perennial tough out in Pennington, who has pretty solid over her last three fights.

Ladd was projected to be a contender when she first touched down in the UFC and she’s climbed as high as No. 3 in the rankings (she’s No. 4 right now), but she’s lost two of her last three appearances (one at featherweight) and struggled with her weight, all of which leaves her in a high pressure situation this week in Jacksonville.

The skills and talent and physical abilities are there for her to be a force in this division, but her focus and will might not be on the same level.

We’ll find out Friday, and then hopefully Saturday.

One of a Kind

When Aleksei Oleinik was supposed to fight Ilir Latifi a couple weeks back, Sean Sheehan asked me on the Severe MMA Preview Show if Oleinik was the last of a dying breed in MMA, and I countered by saying he’s a one-of-one in today’s MMA, and I stand by it.

I don’t know if he’s going to get his 60th career win this weekend or not, and I have no idea how much longer he intends to compete, but what I do know is that we’re never going to see a grappling specialist with an arsenal full of rarely seen submissions at his disposal competing inside the Octagon every again, especially not at heavyweight. There might be some BJJ world champions that make the transition with smooth ground games and a penchant for leg locks, but the likelihood of seeing a 240-pound hulk that likes to pull guard and hunt for Ezekiel chokes or the occasional scarf-hold armlock or choke is slim.

In an age of generalists, the 44-year-old Oleinik is a rare specialist still plying his trade and testing himself at the highest level, and it’s something we’re not going to see again once he’s gone.

More Class of ‘21 Assessments

Members of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ‘21 are currently 10-7 inside the Octagon, which is a solid, if unspectacular record though the first quarter of the year. There have been a couple standout efforts, a couple disappointing turns, but mostly the kind of middling performances I was expecting after chronicling last season and thinking about the potential impact the graduating class could make this year.

Saturday night, two more members of the group make the walk for the first time, as Mike Malott takes on Mickey Gall and Piera Rodriguez squares off with Kay Hansen in a pair of quality fights that should provide instant understanding of what each fighter brings to the table and where they fit in their respective divisions at the moment.

Malott is a Team Alpha Male rep who has fought quality competition throughout his career and surely has benefitted from being a part of that elite camp for some time, while Rodriguez is based in Spain with Luke Barnatt, but works in with different crews around Los Angeles and Orange County when she’s stateside. Both looked good in their DWCS appearances last year — Malott earning a quick finish, Rodriguez a dominant decision — and get solid litmus tests right out of the chute.

Coming out of Season 5, I thought there were a couple athletes that had the chance to have a real impact in their rookie year on the roster, with Malott and Rodriguez projecting as solid middle of the pack talents in their respective divisions. Saturday is a chance for each of them to start working their way towards that position and show whether or not they could potentially move beyond that point in the next couple years.