UFC 273: Vystar Arena, Jacksonville
Every champion has their day in the sun when they look unbeatable. And right now one of the men on that path is Alexander Volkanovski. And if not for Kamaru Usman being number one on the pound-for-pound list, it would belong to “The Great.” After referee Herb Dean jumped in at 45-seconds of round-9, to stop his fifth-title defense against Chan Sung Jung, the argument can be made that Volkanovski’s the best featherweight.
Although “The Korean Zombie” lived up to his name by keep coming forward, the systematic breakdown started from the opening bell. The 33-year-old Australian is now on a 21-fight win streak after picking up his 12th KO and finished number 15 in his fourth-title defense. It also ended a streak for him. His last four fights were all decisions.
His lightning fast hands, especially a stiff jab and his head and footwork are something else to watch. And it rattled Jung a couple of times. Then post fight he mentioned:
“I’m on a different level and I can’t be stopped… It’s a drive to be better… Everyone in the division; get your s**t together, and you can get the shot next”.
He also teased at fighting Max Holloway next, who he was supposed to fight. But both he and Dana White were non-committal about it.
Volkanovski’s The Best Featherweight; So Who Could Be Next
While Holloway is known for high outputs, Volkanovski is more of a complete fighter. Yair Rodriguez has been inconsistent at best going 2-2 with a no-contest in his last five. Calvin Kattar looked the part to be next. Volkanovski is too big to go down to 135, especially with Aljamain Sterling zeroing in on TJ Dillashaw. And he’s also too small to go up to lightweight. Those guys would expose him, even if it’s not incredibly easy.
But lurking in the dark somewhere is a former champion. A former double-champion… with a gold medal to boot. Henry Cejudo, who trained The Korean Zombie for this fight, has consistently teased about a comeback. And THAT would be quite a payday with some serious fireworks. Although he did tweet about Sterling.
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