5 reasons why UFC 273 will be the best UFC event of 2022 so far

UFC 273 is set to go down on April 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. It will be the UFC's fourth pay-per-view of 2022 and is shaping up to be a hugely memorable event.

UFC London was, without a doubt, the best event of 2022 thus far. However, the primary focus on British fighters and the lack of championship bouts made it feel a lot more special to the English fans in attendance than those watching globally. We believe UFC 273, which is underway this weekend, will turn out to be the best event of the year so far.

UFC 273 Artist Series poster [Image via @ufc on Twitter]

UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane, UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 and UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal were great events. However, they didn't deliver in the same way as 2021's UFC 267: Blachowicz vs. Texeira, UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 and UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier.

Canceled bouts, lackluster main events and drummed up storylines largely contributed to previous pay-per-views in 2022 not delivering in the same way as the last three marquee events of 2021. On that note, we thought we'd discuss five reasons why UFC 273 will be the best event of 2022 so far.

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#5. Numerous rising stars, 'Fight of the Night' contenders and ranked fighters on the UFC 273 prelims

The preliminary card for UFC 273 has a ton of intriguing matchups and potential barnburners. Additionally, a number of prospects are also set to feature in the prelims as they look to work their way up the ranks in their respective divisions.

Irish youngster Ian Garry is set to make his second appearance in the UFC on Saturday, as he gears up to take on Darian Weeks. The unbeaten 24-year-old made quite the impression in his promotional debut at UFC 268 last year, coming away with a first-round knockout victory over Jordan Williams. Garry, a former Cage Warriors champion, will be looking to extend his record to 9-0 with a win over Weeks.

A heavyweight clash between ranked contenders Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Marcin Tybura is also slated to go down at UFC 273.

Tybura currently occupies the No.10 spot in the rankings, while Rozenstruik sits two spots ahead of his Polish counterpart at No.8. Both heavy-handed strikers are coming off losses and will be itching to return to winning ways. This bout likely doesn't go the distance and should arguably have been on the main card.

The Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos, Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott and Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd fights are all legitimate 'Fight of the Night' contenders. All three bouts are stylistically great matchups and will undoubtedly produce fireworks at UFC 273.

A women's bantamweight clash between two top ten fighters is also set to feature on the UFC 273 preliminary card. No.4-ranked Aspen Ladd and No.7-ranked Raquel Pennington will square off in a hugely important contest where the victor will move one step closer to a championship opportunity.

#4. UFC 273 has a truly stacked main card

The main card of UFC 273 is stacked beyong belief, and we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way. In the post COVID-19 era, travel restrictions, vaccination protocols and visa issues have hampered fighters' scheduled bouts and multiple fight cards have taken a hit over the last few months.

For now, this pay-per-view is looking strong. In the main event, reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanvski squares off against top-ranked contender 'The Korean Zombie'. The co-main event sees bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling run it back with interim champion Petr Yan. The main card also features the much anticipated welterweight clash between No.2-ranked Gilbert Burns and No.11-ranked Khamzat Chimaev.

The one fight that is largely flying under the radar is the Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres matchup. Dern, currently ranked No.5 in the strawweight division, will be eager to bounce back following her loss to Marina Rodriguez last year. Torres, who occupies the No.7 spot at 115 pounds, will be eyeing a spot in the top five with a win this weekend.

Undefeated wrestling phenom Mark O. Madsen is also set to return to the octagon at UFC 273. The Olympic silver medallist and multi-time wrestling world champion boasts an impeccable professional record of 11-0. He is likely one or two wins away from breaking into the rankings at 155 pounds.

He is set to take on The Ultimate Fighter season 15 alum Vinc Pichel, who's been in the UFC for over seven years. Madsen is an ominous presence in the lightweight division and is a nightmare stylistic matchup for almost anyone he goes up against. While he's struggled to put away his opponents so far in his UFC career, this particular matchup looks tailormade for 'The Olympian'.

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#3. No unnecessary drama and backstory in the UFC 273 main event, unlike UFC 270, 271 and 272

The main event of UFC 273 sees featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski take on Chan Sung Jung aka 'The Korean Zombie'. Volkanovski will be looking to defend his throne for the third time, while Jung is finally set to get a championship opportunity almost nine years after his first attempt at featherweight gold.

The Volkanovski vs. 'The Korean Zombie' matchup comes as a breath of fresh air after all the drama-filled headliners in the three previous UFC pay-per-views. There's absolutely no animosity or storyline behind this title fight, making it a pure clash of skills. More often than not, when two fighters familiar with one another lock horns, it's a tetchy affair considering their knowledge of each other's arsenal and tendencies.

At UFC 270 in January, a lot was made of the fact that Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane trained together in the past and used to have the same coach. February's UFC 271 was headlined by a rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, which was never going to live up to the first fight between the middleweight duo.

The Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal grudge match at UFC 272 was more of a soap opera used to cover up an incredibly uneven stylistic matchup.

Both Alexander Volkanovski and 'The Korean Zombie' are respectful competitors. For Volkanovski, this comes as a fresh challenge after back-to-back bouts with Max Holloway and a stint on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Brian Ortega.

'The Great' has vowed to rule the division for a long time. He has a wily veteran in front of him, whose toughness will bring the best out of the Australian titleholder at UFC 273.

Watch the preview for the UFC 273 main event below:

#2. A title unification bout brimming with bad blood in the UFC 273 co-main event

The co-headliner of UFC 273 pits bitter rivals Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan against one another in a highly anticipated title unification bout. Yan is considered by fans, peers and analysts to be the best bantamweight in the world, which puts Sterling, the reigning champion, in an awkward position.

The 135-pound duo seemingly had no issues with each other going into their first clash, which went down at UFC 259 last year. However, the circumstances of that fight have created a rivalry that has continued to brew ever since they first locked horns.

At UFC 259 last year, Yan was looking to defend his title while Sterling was eyeing UFC gold. The Russian champion dominated his American counterpart on the night, but landed an illegal knee in the fourth round, which saw him get disqualified. Sterling became the first fighter in UFC history to win a title in such a manner.

Adding fuel to the fire, they were initially set to run it back at UFC 267 last year. However, Sterling was forced to pull out of the bout due to lingering medical issues. Top-ranked contender Cory Sandhagen stepped in as a replacement and an interim title was put on the line, which Yan won.

Since their rematch was announced for UFC 273, the duo have been going back-and-forth on social media. Yan has repeatedly stated that his American counterpart is scared of the eventual beating he will receive, while Sterling has vowed to change the narrative and stun the MMA world.

Watch the preview for the UFC 273 co-main event below:

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#1. UFC 273's highly intriguing Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev matchup

Without a shadow of a doubt, the main attraction at UFC 273 will be the welterweight clash between former title challenger Gilbert Burns and rising star Khamzat Chimaev. It's very rare for a non-championship fight on a pay-per-view to garner as much hype as this matchup has, which is a testament to Chimaev's irrefutable star power.

Chimaev broke onto the scene with a couple of dominant performances in Abu Dhabi in 2020. He followed this up with a 17-second KO victory over Gerald Meerschaert. In his next bout, he ripped through No.11-ranked welterweight contender Li Jingliang to break into the 170-pound rankings. In his post-fight interview, he put the entire roster on notice.

What makes Chimaev different from the other hype trains in the UFC is that the promotion feels no need to slow-play his career, as they've done with other popular fighters like Sean O'Malley and Paddy Pimblett. The UFC brass clearly believes that the unbeaten phenom is ready to take on the cream of the crop, which brought about a fight against No.2-ranked Gilbert Burns.

Burns has been in the UFC since 2014, initially plying his trade in the lightweight division before moving up to welterweight. The multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion is a very dangerous matchup for Chimaev, considering his grappling credentials. 'Borz' will have to be extremely careful while engaging 'Durinho' on the mat and it'll be interesting to see whose style reigns supreme.

The Chimaev-Burns matchup at UFC 273 will be a high stakes affair as well. At the UFC 272 post-fight press conference, Dana White seemingly confirmed that it "makes sense" for the winner to fight for the title next.

Watch the preview for UFC 273's Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev bout below: