Alexander Volkanovski won with a flawless victory in his defense of the UFC 273 featherweight title.
Truth be told, the reigning 145-pound king could have easily earned a stoppage after the third round as he just punished “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung with a series of punishing strikes just before the horn sounded. Still, Jung was allowed to continue but after Volkanovski lit him up with another staggering combination, referee Herb Dean finally saw enough to stop the contest.
The end came at just 45 seconds into the fourth round.
Following his third title defense, Volkanovski admitted it was getting a little uncomfortable watching Jung take so much damage but thankfully Dean stepped in before things got even worse.
” I told you all week that I was on a different level. Volkanovski stated. “I can’t be stopped. He actually took a lot more than I wanted him to. I thought they could have stopped it a bit earlier. I started feeling bad in there but that’s the sport we’re in.”
It was possible Volkanovski’s best performance since becoming champion as he just beat Jung to the punch in nearly every exchange. Fast on his feet with a lot of power in his punches, Volkanovski was tagging his opponent early and often with no real fear of reprisal as “The Korean Zombie” just kept eating shots in succession.
Jung eventually pressed forward but Volkanovski met him and presented him with a left-right combination which seemed to wobble the featherweight veteran momentarily.
The assault continued with Volkanovski just consistently beating Jung to the punch during every exchange as the reigning featherweight king was just so quick yet powerful with his strikes.
Midway through the second round, Volkanovski clubbed Jung with a massive right hand that really rattled the two-time title challenger. Although it appeared that Volkanovski would win, Jung refused to give up and he continued to swing shots from his hips in an effort to stop Jung from getting any more hurt.
Volkanovski led with a smooth left jab, followed by a strong right that caused Jung continual problems. Jung tried to push ahead with more aggression but Volkanovski was able to defend himself and returned after Jung with more punches, leg kicks and more.
Just before the end of the third round, Volkanovski hit Jung with another powerful right hand. It appeared the fight might be stopped but time ran out with Jung holding on until the horn sounded.
The UFC commentators all agreed that perhaps Jung’s coaches should throw in the towel but he was allowed to continue. Almost as soon as the fourth round started, Volkanovski blasted Jung with one final combination that mercifully ended the fight.
“I was most confident out of my entire career,” Jung said afterwards. Jung said that he felt as though he had hit a brick wall and could not get over it. I’ll need more time to think on it to see if I will continue fighting or if I will leave the octagon. That .”
will be something I have to consider.
Volkanovski was forced to defend his title after a back-to-back fight with Max Holloway. However, his two victories over Jung and Brian Ortega have helped him to break away from the rest of his opponents. After their first meeting at UFC 273, all signs point to Holloway’s third title defense. Volkanovski invites anyone to take on the challenge.
“Obviously there was a fight that was meant to be scheduled for this one,” Volkanovski said when referencing Holloway. “We’ll see what the UFC says.
“Everyone in my division, I’ve been saying it for a while now — get your s*** together, earn that No. 1 spot and you get it. If not, you’re going to f***** miss out, it’s that simple.”
