It’s official now! The much-awaited welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns will go down at UFC 273.
UFC just made the official announcement of the UFC 273 pay-per-view event which will feature the fight between Khamzat vs Burns. UFC 273 is a super-stacked card with multiple championship bouts. Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Chan Sung Jung. Khamzat Chimaev Takes on Number 2 Ranked Welterweight Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on April 9
Apart from that, Petr Yan will get his chance to take his belt back from Bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling. UFC 273 will take place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America.
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— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
The fight between Burns and Khamzat has been on the news since UFC teased a possible clash between the superstars a month ago. This was the result of Chimaev calling out Burns for a fight on his YouTube channel. The Brazilian reacted to Chimaev by asking UFC president, Dana White to make sure the fight takes place.
The rumors of the fight spread like wildfire as fight fans were extremely excited to see this fight. The fight attracted immense popularity way before it was official. Both the fighters are very interesting to see and fans want to see who will win the fight.
Why did Khamzat Chimaev get such an opportunity this early in his career?
In all of the excitement of this fight, it is important to remember that for Chimaev it’s an opportunity of a lifetime. The Chenchen born Swedish fighter is currently at #11 in the welterweight division and will fight Burns who is #2.
Chimaev made his UFC debut in 2020 against John Phillips at UFC on ESPN 13. Since then has had three fights and won all of them. His domination performance and personality behind the mic have helped him to gain a huge fan base. People wanted to see what was next for the fighter and were crazy for it. So for the UFC, it was an amazing chance to get the most out of the hype and they did.
But for Chimaev, Burns will be the biggest challenge so far he has faced in his professional career. Apart from Li Jingliang, Chimaev hasn’t fought anybody of that caliber. To compete and win against a fighter like Burns who is a BJJ genius it will be a tough night for Chimaev.