Two of the top finishers in the featherweight division will meet on Saturday in the main event of UFC 273 when champion Alexander Volkaovski defends the title against fourth-ranked Chan Sung Jung. The championship fight anchors the main UFC 273 fight card (10 p.m. ET) from Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. Volkanovski and Jung, better known as The Korean Zombie, are both known for their prolific striking and submission skills. Volkanovski has 14 finishes among his 23 professional MMA victories, while Jung has notched 14 wins inside the distance among his 17 career victories.
Volkanovski is a -750 favorite (risk $750 to win $100), while Jung is a +525 underdog in the latest Volkanovski vs. Korean Zombie odds from Caesars Sportsbook. In the co-main event, the bantamweight title is at stake when Petr Yan (-450) takes on Aljamain Sterling (+370) in a much-anticipated rematch. Before settling any picks of your own for UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie, make sure you see the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine analyst Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past 37 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $13,000. The accomplished MMA analyst has now connected on 52 of his last UFC 82 main-event selections, a stretch that includes a streak of five straight underdogs in 2020.
Marley kicked off the 2022 UFC season in January by telling SportsLine members to back Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar's lopsided unanimous-decision victory gave Marley's followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him is way up. Now, he's turned his attention to UFC 273. You can only see his picks here.
UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie preview
The main event was originally scheduled to be a trilogy against the ultra-popular Holloway, in large part because their second matchup resulted in a split decision that many observers believe favored the wrong fighter.
Volkanovski (23-1), 33, has been slow to receive the recognition usually bestowed upon a dominant champion mostly because of the reverence most MMA fans have for Holloway, but the Australian fighter's greatness can't be denied.
In his last fight, he narrowly escaped numerous submissions from top-ranked contender Brian Ortega and emerged with a unanimous-decision victory in one of the most memorable fights the featherweight division has ever seen.
He faces a new challenge in Jung (17-6), who is also likely to receive the bulk of the crowd support. He is an 11-year UFC veteran who earned his first title shot on the strength of three dominant wins to start his UFC tenure.
The Korean Zombie saw his MMA career derailed by various injuries and mandatory military service in his native South Korea, but the 35-year-old has won three of his last four fights to again emerge as a title-contender. The lone defeat in that span came against Ortega. See who to back here.
Top UFC 273 predictions
We'll share one of Marley's UFC 273 predictions here: He is siding with Aspen Ladd (+165) to pull the upset of Raquel Pennington (-185) in a battle of women's bantamweight contenders.
Pennington (13-8) is an eight-year UFC veteran and perennial contender who has faced some of the biggest names in the division. She is a one-time title-challenger who came up short against longtime champion Amanda Nunes in July 2018. But the 33-year-old Colorado native has momentum behind a three-fight winning streak, which includes a submission of prospect Macy Chiasson in December.
Ladd (9-2) came to the UFC as a celebrated and undefeated prospect. She won her first three fights with the promotion before losing a main event in her hometown of Sacramento in 16 seconds to Germaine de Randamie in July 2019. Ladd also has battled weight-cutting issues that have caused the postponement or cancellation of numerous fights. She moved up to featherweight for her last fight and lost a decision to veteran Norma Dumont in October.
"I think Ladd is the better wrestler and, if she can get takedowns, I think she can win rounds with top control and ground-and-pound.," Marley told SportsLine.
How to make UFC 273 picks, best bets
Marley also has strong picks for Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie and every other bout on the UFC 273 card. He's also backing one fighter to "get a knockout in the championship rounds." Those selections are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC 273, all from the incomparable expert who's up more than $13,000 on MMA in the past 37 months, and find out.
UFC 273 odds, fight card
Alexander Volkanovski (-750) vs. Chan Sung Jung (+525)
Petr Yan (-450) vs. Aljamain Sterling (+370)
Khamzat Chimaev (-550) vs. Gilbert Burns (+425)
Tecia Torres (-110) vs. Mackenzie Dern (-110)
VInc Pichel (-135) vs. Mark Madsen (+115)
Anthony Hernandez (-200) vs. Josh Fremd (+175)
Raquel Pennington (-185) vs. Aspen Ladd (+165)
Piera Rodriguez (-130) vs. Kay Hansen (+110)
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-150) vs. Marcin Tybura (+130)
Jared Vanderaa (-110) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (-110)
Julio Arce (-190) vs. Daniel Santos (+170)
Ian Garry (-380) vs. Darian Weeks (+310)
Mike Malott (-200) vs. Mickey Gall (+170)
