Some scores are looking to be settled this Spring.
Breaking News
The UFC has booked two championship fights for UFC 272 on March 5th. The main event will be a trilogy between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. The fun doesn’t stop there. In the co-headliner, we will have Aljamain Sterling take on Petr Yan in a heated grudge match.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto would be the first to break the news, getting confirmation from Dana White. Contracts have not been signed yet, but the UFC is closing in on these matchups.
Two championship rivalries will be settled at UFC 272 in March, Dana White told @bokamotoESPN.
Contracts have not been signed, per sources, but both fights should be finalized soon. pic.twitter.com/csJ9Vb0TRh
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 5, 2022
The Featherweight Series
Alexander Volkanovski will have to meet Max Holloway once again. The UFC Featherweight Champion is already 2-0 against Holloway. Volkanovski would steal the belt off him and then defend it in an immediate rematch. However, the sequel wouldn’t be crystal clear in terms of judging. It was quite controversial, with many thinking ‘Blessed’ was the winner.
Despite the controversy, the two would go their separate ways… but not for long. Knowing the competitors, it was still a collision course for both of them. Holloway would put on a ‘performance of the year’ against Calvin Kattar and then another classic against Yair Rodriguez.
Volkanovski would impress in his latest title defense as well. Alexander ‘The Great’ lived up to his nickname by conquering Brian Ortega’s slick submission skills. He would batter and bruise ‘T-City’ over the course of 5 rounds in a very competitive fight. Some even regarded it as the best fight of 2021.
Volkanovski looks to close out the series at 3-0 against the fighting Hawaiian.
Champ vs. Champ
In the co-main, the champ meets the interim champ.
Aljamain Sterling, who owns the most ‘disputed’ UFC title in history, will be making his first title defense against Petr Yan. The two are more than familiar with each other.
After outclassing Sterling for 3 rounds, then-champion Yan would make one brutal mistake. Entering the championship rounds, Yan would launch a missile of a knee to a grounded Sterling. Several minutes after the fact, Sterling would remain on the mat, aching in pain.
The fight would be called off as Sterling wouldn’t continue. Bantamweight gold would be wrapped around the waist of Sterling, who had the first DQ win in UFC title fight history. The fight would look to be ran back as quickly as possible. This would not be the case.
Sterling would pull out of his scheduled bout against Yan at UFC 267, due to injury. Yan would instead face Cory Sandhagen, where he won the interim title to close out October. Months later, the rematch would finally have another date. The two are scheduled to (hopefully) settle the score on March 5th.
