5 contenders for the Fight of the Night award at UFC 273

#2. UFC welterweight bout: Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks

Can prospect Ian Garry produce something special this weekend?

While his name isn’t as well-known as some of the fighters he’s sharing the card with at the weekend, Ian Garry seems to be one of the UFC’s hotter prospects right now and is garnering plenty of hype.

The Irishman has already stated he’s in no rush to get to the top of the promotion and doesn’t seem to like the comparisons to fellow former Cage Warriors champions like Paddy Pimblett and Conor McGregor. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to be excited about his chances.

After all, ‘The Future’ is 8-0 as a professional, has only gone the distance once and finished opponent Jordan Williams with a violent flurry of strikes in his octagon debut last year.

This weekend sees him matched with Darian Weeks, who has a similar amount of experience and a similar aggressive style to that of Garry. Weeks lost his octagon debut last year, but there’s no shame in losing to a hard-nosed veteran like Bryan Barberena and he’ll be desperate to bounce back here.

Based on what we’ve seen from both of these men, it’s likely that they’ll produce a firefight this weekend. While Garry is undoubtedly the favorite to win, the fact that the UFC is already pushing him as a potential star means that they could choose to shine the spotlight on this one by rewarding it with the Fight of the Night award.

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#1. UFC featherweight title: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung

Can Chan Sung Jung bring the best out of Alexander Volkanovski this weekend?

While the UFC doesn’t often reward its headline bouts with the Fight of the Night bonus, usually because the headliners are already the highest-paid fighters on the card, this weekend’s headliner could buck that trend.

Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title defense against Chan Sung Jung isn’t the fight that was initially planned for the Aussie. He was supposed to fight Max Holloway for a third time. However, it’s arguable that this match will produce a more exciting bout overall.

Simply put, ‘The Korean Zombie’ is one of the most exciting fighters in UFC history, whether he’s putting on epic brawls with the likes of Yair Rodriguez and Dustin Poirier or finishing Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano in violent fashion.

‘The Great’, meanwhile, isn’t a consummate finisher per say, but he’s also an aggressive, hard-nosed fighter who won’t back down from anyone. Not only is he the best featherweight on the planet right now, but he’s also one of the most exciting, as he showed in his Fight of the Year contender against Brian Ortega in 2021.

Therefore, if Jung looks to take the fight to Volkanovski as everyone is expecting, we should be in for something special, particularly as both men are tough and durable enough to take the bout into the later rounds.

He may not end up claiming UFC gold at the end of the night, but with all things considered, don’t bet against ‘The Korean Zombie’ claiming his seventh post-fight performance bonus this weekend.