Latest news with #CharlesOlivera
BreakingNews.ie
20 hours ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
UFC 317: Ilia Topuria aims to become two-weight champion
In the main event of UFC 317, Ilia Topuria will aim to become a two-weight champion when he faces Charles Olivera for the vacant lightweight title. After he vacated his featherweight title, Topuria only had eyes on the 155 belt, with Islam Makhachev originally seen as the likely opponent. Advertisement However, after he moved up to welterweight, Topuria faces fan favourite and former champion Olivera at UFC 317. Photo: Sofascore. Unbeaten in his career, and knockout wins over Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski in his last two fight, Topuria is one of the biggest stars of the sport. His boxing is some of the best MMA has ever seen, and his power is something no fighter has been able to deal with. If it transfers over to lightweight, the rest of the division could be in trouble. Attempting to achieve something few have done in the sport, Olivera will have one of Topuria's most difficult assignments. Advertisement While his defense may be questionable, Olivera's willingness to put himself in danger often puts him on the path to victory. The fighter with the most submissions in the UFC, Olivera will be keen to get this fight to the ground, and force Topuria into a mistake during the exchanges. In the co-main event, the flyweight title is on the line as Alexandre Pantoja takes on Kai Kara-France. Pantoja has already defended his title three times, with his last defence against Kai Askura at UFC 310 when he won via second round submission. Advertisement Photo: Sofascore. Having already defeated most of the top contenders at flyweight, the Brazilian fighter could have his eyes on bantamweight should he win on Saturday. In Kara-France however, he will face arguably the most powerful puncher at 125 pounds, who will be eager to cause the upset in his first title shot. With injuries, close decision losses and timing often against him, the New Zealand fighter will feel like now is his time to become world champion. Elsewhere on the card, it will be a big night for the flyweight division, as Brandon Royval takes on Joshua Van, who could become the next contender if he was to defeat Royval. Van is making a quick turnaround from his win over Bruno Silva at UFC 316, while Royval is on a two-fight win streak, with decision wins over former champion Brandon Moreno and Tatsuro Taira. In his first fight since UFC 311, Renato Moicano will hope to get back on the win column when he faces Benil Dariush in the lightweight division, in a fight that was originally scheduled for January.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ilia Topuria Sends Bold Message to Charles Olivera Ahead of UFC 317
Ilia Topuria Sends Bold Message to Charles Olivera Ahead of UFC 317 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. International fight week is underway, with one of the most anticipated fights of 2025 taking center stage this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advertisement UFC 317 is headlined by former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and former lightweight champion Charles Olivera, where they will compete for the vacant lightweight title. As the pay-per-view gets closer, Topuria's confident trash talk is heating up. He appeared on 'The Ariel Helwani Show' yesterday, breaking down the matchup and he's expecting a massive performance because of their respective styles. "I'm going to finish him in the first round. He walks forward, this is all I need. The time that it takes me to knock out my opponents is the time that it takes me to close the distance because they run away. They run, they move side to side, and once I close the distance and I go with my combinations, I knock them out,' Topuria said. 'But with Charles, I'm not going to need to close the distance because he walks forward. This is all I need to take his lights out. Just try to stay in the middle of the Octagon. Just try to do that, and you're not going to see me coming." Olivera has the most wins by finish in UFC history with 20 and is coming off a dominating victory over Michael Chandler last November. Despite the Brazilian's accolades, Topuria believes he's experienced similar circumstances in previous fights. Advertisement "You can never count him out because he's a dangerous guy," Topuria said. "He has the most finishes in the UFC's history. But I have faced those kind of situations many, many times, with [Alexander Volkanovski], with Max Holloway. No one could beat them. No one could knock them out. And they always had this thing in their mind, like, 'Oh, I faced this guy and this one and that. No one could knock me out.' You never faced me. You never faced someone that skillful like me.' Topuria's last two wins came against former champion Max Holloway and current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and he finished both of them brutally. He's always possessed extreme confidence, in a similar way to Conor McGregor, but Topuria trusts his skills first. "This is what I've been saying for a long time,' Topuria said. The skill development I'm bringing to this sport, they've never felt it, they never saw it. So this is what's going to happen with Charles. He thinks that he has some opportunities, but the reality is that he [does] not. The only thing he has to do is show up, and I'll do the rest." This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
