3 storylines to watch at UFC 273

As he continues to push toward all-time great status in the featherweight division, Alexander Volkanovski will defend his championship for the third time against Chan Sung Jung in the UFC 273 main event Saturday in Jacksonville.

The card also features a rematch between bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder Petr Yan, as well as a highly anticipated welterweight tilt between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev.

Here are three key storylines heading into the event.

Holloway waiting in the wings

There isn't as much anticipation surrounding the Volkanovski-Jung headliner compared to the two other big fights on the card, and that's mainly because Jung wasn't supposed to be here.

Not to say "The Korean Zombie" is completely undeserving of a second shot at UFC gold - he challenged Jose Aldo for the title way back in 2013 - but this was Max Holloway's fight.

Arguably the second-best featherweight in UFC history, Holloway bowed out of a scheduled trilogy matchup against Volkanovski with an injury. Though Jung was the rightful replacement, Holloway is still the most deserving of a title shot. He's the best non-champion in the division, and after he beat Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez in 2021, it felt like the trilogy fight with Volkanovski needed to happen.

To make the situation worse, many out there believe Holloway should've won his July 2020 rematch against Volkanovski - and therefore consider him the real champion. While not at all fair to Volkanovski given his clear-cut win in their first bout - as well as other triumphs against Brian Ortega, Aldo, and Chad Mendes - some think he needs to beat Holloway a third time to truly prove himself.

The reality is that Holloway - who bizarrely offered to serve as a backup fighter for Volkanovski-Jung after doctors cleared him earlier than expected - looms over Saturday's main event. His presence is very much felt, even if he's not on the card. Hopefully, he'll fight the winner and all will be resolved soon.

Has Sterling made the necessary adjustments?

If Sterling goes into the rematch against Yan with the same game plan as last time, he'll lose.

Luckily for him, it sounds like that won't be the case.

For those who weren't around for the first fight almost 400 days ago, Sterling had a hot start. He threw the wood chipper at Yan in the early rounds and used a lot of pressure.

But Sterling was too aggressive - and that tired him out. Yan, as we know, gets better the later a fight goes. By the third round - and especially the fourth - Yan seemed on track to winning a clear-cut decision. Ultimately, however, Yan nailed Sterling with an illegal knee to lose the bantamweight title by disqualification.

Sterling has since said he was far from his best that night. He told TSN's Aaron Bronsteter he changed his game plan at the last minute and didn't eat enough food the day of the fight. In other words, Sterling didn't have enough fuel to comfortably last five rounds.

Yan is a heavy favorite, but if Sterling enters with a new game plan and is in better shape, this matchup could look a lot different than it did in March 2021.

The people's main event

Title fights in two of the promotion's deepest divisions take top billing at UFC 273, but the fight that everyone is talking about is Burns-Chimaev - and rightfully so.

Chimaev, one of the hottest up-and-comers in recent memory, is looking to enter title contention against the No. 2-ranked Burns less than two years into his Octagon career. While many predict Chimaev will be a future champion, this is a colossal step up in competition from his previous four UFC opponents, and it'll determine whether "Borz" is ready to take on welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

With Usman expected to defend his title against Leon Edwards this summer and the No. 1-ranked Colby Covington having just lost to Usman last November, there's no better option than a Chimaev title shot if he gets past Burns.

But Burns, of course, is one of the best in the division. He's beaten welterweight staples Tyron Woodley, Stephen Thompson, and Demian Maia, and his elite jiu-jitsu abilities could give Chimaev some problems. Even as a sizable underdog, Burns shouldn't be counted out - and that's why this is the people's main event.