Alexander Volkanovski v Chan Sung Jung
Sunday, 04:35
Live on BT Sport
Florida fight night
The Korean Zombie is in action this weekend as Alexander Volkanovski v Chan Sung Jung headlines UFC 273 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The UFC featherweight championship belt is on the line here as Volkanovski aims to successfully defend his hard-earned prize against the challenge of the Korean, who has tried and failed to win this belt already.
The programme includes some top fighters from the UFC, with a bantamweight title fight acting as the chief support, but there's no doubting who the fight fans are here to see. Both Volkanovski v Jung enjoy incredible support, and the arena will be packed as the two warriors head into battle. But who will get the win, the Great or the Zombie?
Great out to defend his title
Volkanovski is the current UFC featherweight champion and is listed as number three in the promotion's pound for pound rankings. The Great hails from New South Wales, Australia. As well as holding a UFC title belt, he is a former Australian Fighting Championship winner and professional boxer, having fought once in the squared circle.
Alexander's MMA career heading into this contest stands at 23 wins against one defeat, with 11 of those victories coming by way of knockout, nine on decision and three by submission. Corey Nelson inflicted his only defeat, but that was back in 2013 on Australian FC 5. We last saw Volkanovski in action on UFC 266 when beating Brian Ortega on points in Las Vegas.
The pre-fight betting available on the Betfair Exchange offers Volkanovski at 1.171/6 to successfully defend his title. Looking through the stats, we note that each of his last four wins have come on the judges' scorecards. Another points win is 1.9520/21 with a submission 11.521/2 and the KO 4.1.
Korean Zombie hungry for an upset
Sung Jung - nicknamed the Korean Zombie - is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC without a championship belt. The 35-year-old from Pohang takes his name from a zombie-like ability to keep moving forward, even when taking big shots. As well as being a professional mixed martial arts fighter on the sport's biggest promotion, Chan is also a former pro kickboxer, and that shows in the style in which he fights.
The Korean Zombie's CV isn't nearly as impressive as that of his opponent, with 23 matches organised by 17 wins against six defeats. His wins have an even spread of eight by submission, six by knockout and three on a points decision. Of his defeats, Sung Jung has been KO'd three times and lost three on the scorecards. He has also lost three of his last seven, making it difficult to back him for an upset win here.
The pre-fight betting does what it can to encourage Sung Jung's support, but he isn't too popular on the exchange. Back Sung Jung to win at odds of 6.411/2 or play the method of victory market for bigger odds. A KO/TKO is 11.521/2, submission 2827/1 and points win 1817/1.
Another points win for Volkanovski
This looks like another winnable fight for the champion, and we're taking him to get the job done without encountering too much resistance along the way. He's the better fighter with the more encouraging record and the current champion of the UFC.
Following the stats, with Volkanovski's last four wins coming on the scorecards, we're backing him for a decision in the method of victory. Going back further, Alexander has won seven of his last nine on points, and that's more than enough for us.