UFC Fight Tonight: April 9, 2022 - Know the prelim fighters competing at UFC 273
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie is set to take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, United States on Saturday. The pay-per-view will be headlined by a featherweight title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung.
In the co-headliner, Petr Yan will seek to reclaim his bantamweight crown after losing it to Aljamain Sterling in their first meeting via disqualification.
Watch the Sterling vs. Yan 2 preview video below:
Also on the card, rising sensation Khamzat Chimaev will make his fourth UFC appearance when he takes on No.2-ranked welterweight contender Gilbert Burns.
While the main card will undoubtedly produce fireworks, the preliminary card is also lined up with intriguing matchups.
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie preliminary card fighters
Check out the entire UFC 273 preliminary card, which is scheduled to kick off on April 9 at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT.
UFC 273 prelim card:
Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington
Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
Watch the UFC 273 countdown video below:
Ian Garry
Undefeated Irish prospect Ian Garry made a splash in his UFC debut last November with a first-round knockout of Jordan Williams. Except for his final bout in Cage Warriors, all of Garry’s career wins have come via stoppage.
Darian Weeks
Darian Weeks (5-1), also a young prospect, is coming off the first defeat of his professional MMA career when he lost his UFC debut via unanimous decision to Bryan Barberena. The fight against Garry represents an interesting challenge for Weeks, who will now look to rebound from his disappointing last outing.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (12-3) has alternated losses and wins through his last five UFC appearances. He is coming off a loss against Curtis Blaydes via unanimous decision in September 2021. While Rozenstruik hasn't shown much consistency in his recent appearances, he will be determined to get back to winning ways when he takes on Tybura at the upcoming pay-per-view event.
Marcin Tybura
Marcin Tybura (22-7) dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Volkov last October, ending his five-fight win streak in the promotion. Much like his opponent, Tybura will also be looking to get back into the win column when he enters the cage at UFC 273.
Aspen Ladd
Aspen Ladd (9-2) came up short in her most recent outing in October, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Norma Dumont. The California-born fighter has lost two of her last three bouts in the promotion.
Raquel Pennington
Raquel Pennington (13-8) is taking this fight on rather short notice, after Ladd's original opponent, Irene Aldana, was forced out of the fight. Pennington will enter her UFC 273 bout on the back of a three-fight win streak.
Mickey Gall
Mickey Gall (7-4) hasn't been in the best of form since his 2016 submission win over Sage Northcutt. Gall is currently 3-4 in his last seven bouts, having alternated losses and wins. The 30-year-old will be itching to return to winning ways when he takes on Mike Malott this weekend.
Mike Malott
Mike Malott (7-1) is set to make his UFC debut after scoring a first-round submission win over Shimon Smotritsky in the Dana White's Contender Series last October. The 30-year-old is unbeaten in his last four bouts, the first of which was a draw.