A new featherweight title fight and a previously reported bantamweight matchup have been moved to UFC’s April 9th pay-per-view event.
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski is now scheduled to face Chan Sung Jung, also known as The Korean Zombie, at UFC 273 in three months. The card is also set to include a fight between UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and interim champ Petr Yan.
The matchups join a card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment. The changes were confirmed by reporter Ariel Helwani on Tuesday night.
Volkanovski was originally being targeted to fight Max Holloway in a trilogy bout at UFC 272. However, that fight was later canceled after Holloway pulled out due to an injury.
Zombie, the replacement opponent for Holloway, is getting the matchup after going five rounds against Dan Ige for a unanimous decision win last year.
Zombie will be getting the second title shot of his career. His last championship fight was in 2013 when he was stopped by Jose Aldo.
Volkanovski will be attempting to defend his belt for the second time. His last title fight was in September when he worked to a decision victory over Brian Ortega.
Sterling vs. Yan Moved
The bantamweight unification bout between Sterling and Yan was first set for March but is being moved to this date along with the featherweight fight.
Sterling dethroned Yan in early 2021, as Yan was disqualified in the fourth round due to an illegal knee.
UFC has struggled to book a rematch between them since then, as numerous bookings have fallen through for various reasons. Yan earned an interim bantamweight last year, putting on a strong performance over Cory Sandhagen.
Updated Lineup
Bout 5: Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) vs. The Korean Zombie (17-6) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 4: Aljamain Sterling (20-3) vs. Petr Yan (16-2) (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 3: Irene Aldana (13-6) vs. Aspen Ladd (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Pat Sabatini (16-3) vs. Gavin Tucker (13-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Mickey Gall (7-4) vs. Mike Malott (7-1-1) (Welterweight)
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