Five Under The Radar Storylines For UFC 273
After a rare week off, the UFC returns on pay-per-view for UFC 273 in Jacksonville, FL. Three huge fights headline the fight card. In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski defends his belt for the third time against all-time fan-favorite The Korean Zombie. In the co-main, the rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr finally takes place to see who is the bantamweight king. Finally, in the people’s main event, No. 2 ranked Gilbert faces Khamzat Chimaev in a pivotal fight. However, if you look past these three fights, there are some under-the-radar storylines.
Must win for Kay Hansen
A lot is on the line for 22-year old Kay Hansen at UFC 273. She is riding the first two-fight losing streak of her career and might be in a do-or-die situation. This is the fourth fight on her first contract, so she’s fighting for a spot in the promotion. A loss could be detrimental for the young fighter as she would fall to 7-6. Hansen requested to do no media ahead of this fight as it is all business. She faces UFC newcomer Piera Rodriguez, who is coming to put Hansen’s name on her resume. When a fighter’s back is against the wall, they usually go all out, so it should be good.
Banger of the week
Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd is the banger of the week for UFC 273. Fremd makes his UFC debut on 11 days’ notice after grinding on the regional scene and suffering some highs and lows. The Factory X product has finished four of his last opponents and tends to always be in a scrap. He faces ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez, has a few opponent changeups, and is coming off a layoff. However, his last win was a wild one as he tapped four-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Rodolfo Vieira. This should be a banger for as long as it lasts.
Ian Garry
Irish prospect Ian Garry returns for his second UFC fight this weekend against Darian Weeks. Garry had a pretty memorable UFC debut at UFC 268 in New York when he knocked out Jordan Williams after suffering some adversity. Oh, and he cut a pretty good promo afterward. Garry has moved his camp to Sanford MMA in Florida and has constantly been improving. So while he might not be the next Conor McGregor, he can be the next Ian Garry.
Big fight in the strawweight division
No. 7 ranked Tecia Torres takes on No. 5 Mackenzie Dern on the PPV portion of UFC 273. After suffering a brutal four-fight losing streak that saw Torres face Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zhang Weili, and Marina Rodriguez, the 32-year old is now on a three-fight win streak. A win over her opponent on Saturday could set her up for a No. 1 contender fight, which would be a remarkable story. On the other hand, Dern had her hype derailed pretty bad when she lost her UFC main event against Rodriguez. The 29-year old was very close to a title shot herself; however, a dominant finish over Torres could get her right back in the picture. The only catch is Torres has never been finished in her 18 fights.
Welcome to the UFC, Mike Malott
Team Alpha Male’s Muay Thai, Boxing, and BJJ coach Mike Malott makes his UFC debut on Saturday. Malott is coming off a 39-second submission win over Shimon Smotritsky that earned him a UFC contract on season five of Dana White’s Contender Series. The 30-year old prospect holds a 100% finish rate, with most of his wins coming in the first round. Malott could be a big problem. The Canadian faces the always tough Mickey Gall, who has recently moved his camp to Sanford MMA full time. Malott vs. Gall should be a fun one.
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