The big UFC pay-per-view for this month is happening this weekend, and with two highly anticipated championship bouts on the main card, this is not an event that fight fans will want to miss. At UFC 273, Alexander Volkanovski and Aljamain Sterling will be defending their titles, but since this is a PPV, you’ll need to sign up for ESPN+ in order to watch the UFC 273 live stream online. There’s no free UFC 273 stream, but the good news is that if you’re a new subscriber, you can sign up for ESPN+ and grab your pay-per-view ticket for a $45 discount right now. Here’s what you need to know.
Why You Should be Interested in UFC 273
UFC 273 is the MMA league’s first pay-per-view for the second quarter of 2022 and it’s a big one. The main card is offering up two championship contests: For the headliner, reigning UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski (23-1) will be defending his title against Chan Sung “The Korean Zombie” Jung (17-6). This will be Volkanovski’s third title defense since winning the belt in December 2019 at UFC 245, where the Australian fighter defeated then-champ Max Halloway via unanimous decision. He then defended the belt in a rematch against the former champion and most recently defeated Brian Ortega in September to mark his second successful title defense. Volkanovski is currently on a streak of 19 wins and has not lost a match since 2013.
His opponent, Jung, is not likely to be an easy target. The Korean Zombie earned his nickname for his extreme endurance and ability to keep fighting after taking staggering blows to the head that would have laid out many lesser fighters, and is renowned for his aggressiveness and forward fighting momentum even after suffering heavy damage. He’s not invincible, though, and has lost three times via knockout. Jung was also defeated by Brian Ortega in 2020, whom Volkanovski handily defeated the next year. The odds currently stand in favor of the champion to successfully defend his belt for the third time.
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The co-main event is the highly anticipated rematch between UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling (20-3) and Petr “No Mercy” Yan (16-2). The two met last March at UFC 259, where defending champion Yan, despite being dominant throughout the fight, was disqualified in the final minute of the fourth round after he delivered an illegal standing knee to Sterling’s head. This was a somewhat baffling turn of events and an unlikely mistake for a fighter like Yan to make. It was a mistake that cost him the belt and made Sterling the first fighter in UFC history to become champion via disqualification.
The two were slated to have a rematch in October of last year, but Sterling withdrew due to needing more time to recover from neck surgery. As a result, the UFC put up an interim bantamweight title, pitting Yan against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267. The former champ (now interim champ) won via unanimous decision, and he seeks to both reclaim and unify the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 273. Yan has only two losses to his record, one of which was his disqualification at UFC 259. Discounting that, he has not been beaten since 2016 and is considered one of the most dominant fighters in the league. He is favored to win his belt back this Saturday, but Sterling has had plenty of time to prepare for their rematch and might be poised to pull off an upset. The underdog has stated that he’s not happy about how he won the belt and intends to prove to fans that he is indeed worthy of the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
How to Save on the UFC 273 PPV
The UFC 273 main card, like all UFC pay-per-views, will air exclusively on ESPN+ this Saturday night. ESPN holds exclusive rights to broadcast UFC PPV events, and only those with an ESPN+ subscription can purchase and watch the UFC 273 live stream online. ESPN+ alone costs $7 per month or $70 per year, and subscribers will have to pony up $75 for the UFC 273 pay-per-view (a $5 price increase from last year). Bought separately, a one-year ESPN+ membership and a UFC PPV ticket would cost $145.
However, ESPN and the UFC are offering a one-time deal to new subscribers, who can grab a one-year ESPN+ subscription along with the UFC 273 PPV for just $100. That’s a nice $45 discount off their combined price. The UFC 273 main event begins at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on Saturday night, so you’ve still got time to sign up for ESPN+ and grab this pay-per-view bundle deal if you haven’t already. After signing up, you can watch the UFC 273 live stream online on any compatible smart TV, mobile device, streaming stick, Xbox, PlayStation, or right in your PC’s web browser.
