Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira official for UFC lightweight title at UFC 317
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Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will clash for the vacant UFC lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 317 on 28 June, UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday.
The bout will headline the promotion's annual International Fight Week event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The title was left vacant following Islam Makhachev's decision to move up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena, clearing the path for Topuria's long-anticipated title shot.
Makhachev, who previously defeated Oliveira at UFC 280, confirmed the switch divisions after Della Maddalena captured the belt at UFC 315.
Topuria (16-0), a former featherweight champion, relinquished his 145-pound title earlier this year in anticipation of a move to lightweight.
His undefeated run includes standout wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, both of whom he stopped by knockout.
Reacting to the announcement, Topuria stated on social media: "Another dream will come true. It's unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0."
On June 28, another dream will come true. I'll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I'm just fighting for my dreams. It's unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 🌹 pic.twitter.com/YSutHz4U2h — Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) May 13, 2025
Oliveira (35-10, 1 NC) previously held the lightweight belt after defeating Michael Chandler at UFC 262.
He defended it once before missing weight ahead of UFC 274 and was later defeated by Makhachev in his attempt to reclaim the title.
The Brazilian veteran now returns for another chance to secure UFC gold.
UFC 317's co-main event will feature flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defending his title against Kai Kara-France, who earned his shot with a first-round knockout win over Steve Erceg.
The pair previously met on The Ultimate Fighter 24, where Pantoja secured a submission victory.
The full UFC 317 card includes:
Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France
Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov
Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa
Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape
Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez
Final bout order is yet to be confirmed.
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Makhachev to face Della Maddalena
Islam Makhachev has a UFC record of 16-1 and is currently pound-for-pound king in the promotion. Photo: AFP/File For a good while, it was thought that if Islam Makhachev took a shot at the welterweight title, he'd have his lightweight belt to fall back on. After all, two-division champion status has become a coveted resume line in MMA, and Makhachev recently said he planned to challenge new welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena after he upset Belal Muhammad for the belt at UFC 315 – and made every indication he still had work to do at lightweight. But Tuesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced Makhachev has vacated the 155-pound title. It was presumed when Ilia Topuria vacated the featherweight title to move up to lightweight, that it was for a shot at Makhachev's belt. Instead, Topuria will headline UFC 317 against former champ Charles Oliveira for the now-vacant 155-pound title. "Current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is going to move up to the welterweight division to face Jack Della Maddalena," White said Tuesday on Instagram. "What do we all love about Islam? If he had moved up to fight Belal, he was a 5-to-1 favorite. Moving up to fight Jack? The oddsmakers have this fight at even. This guy is a beast. Islam is the f*cking best." With some exceptions, the days of simultaneous two-division UFC champions might be over. When Topuria announced he had vacated the 145-pound title, he intimated he wasn't given the option of keeping it if he moved up. And now the same may be true for Makhachev. Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), White said, will get a title fight in his first bout at welterweight against new champ Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC). Topuria surprisingly vacated the featherweight title earlier this year, there was debate about whether he would get an immediate title shot in his move up. It will happen, just not in the way people expected against Oliveira, and perhaps only thanks to Makhachev vacating his belt.. Makhachev, 33, set the UFC record for consecutive title defenses at 155 pounds with wins over Renato Moicano, Dustin Poirier and Alexander Volkanovski twice. The Khabib Nurmagomedov protege was upset in his second UFC fight nearly 10 years ago, but hasn't lost since then. Chimaev v du Plessis Moreover, CEO Dana White confirmed that UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is set to defend his belt against undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev in the headline bout of UFC 319 on 16 August at the United Center in Chicago. The event marks the promotion's first return to Chicago since UFC 238 in 2019, and it promises to deliver a high-stakes clash between two of the division's top fighters. Du Plessis, who has not lost since joining the UFC in 2020, captured the middleweight title by edging Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC went on to submit Israel Adesanya in the fourth round at UFC 305 and followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Strickland in their February 2025 rematch at UFC 312. Meanwhile, Chimaev enters the fight with an unblemished record and growing hype, having delivered eight wins in the UFC, six of them by stoppage. The Chechen-born star made his strongest case for a title shot by submitting former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the first round at UFC 308a performance awarded 2024 Submission of the Year. Though Chimaev's rise has been marked by sporadic activity due to injuries and visa issues, his dominance when active has kept him firmly in the title conversation. The upcoming bout against du Plessis offers him his long-awaited chance to claim UFC gold.
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Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira official for UFC lightweight title at UFC 317
Listen to article Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will clash for the vacant UFC lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 317 on 28 June, UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday. The bout will headline the promotion's annual International Fight Week event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The title was left vacant following Islam Makhachev's decision to move up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena, clearing the path for Topuria's long-anticipated title shot. Makhachev, who previously defeated Oliveira at UFC 280, confirmed the switch divisions after Della Maddalena captured the belt at UFC 315. Topuria (16-0), a former featherweight champion, relinquished his 145-pound title earlier this year in anticipation of a move to lightweight. His undefeated run includes standout wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, both of whom he stopped by knockout. Reacting to the announcement, Topuria stated on social media: "Another dream will come true. It's unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0." On June 28, another dream will come true. I'll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I'm just fighting for my dreams. It's unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 🌹 — Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) May 13, 2025 Oliveira (35-10, 1 NC) previously held the lightweight belt after defeating Michael Chandler at UFC 262. He defended it once before missing weight ahead of UFC 274 and was later defeated by Makhachev in his attempt to reclaim the title. The Brazilian veteran now returns for another chance to secure UFC gold. UFC 317's co-main event will feature flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defending his title against Kai Kara-France, who earned his shot with a first-round knockout win over Steve Erceg. The pair previously met on The Ultimate Fighter 24, where Pantoja secured a submission victory. The full UFC 317 card includes: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez Final bout order is yet to be confirmed.
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