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Forbes
a day ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC Announces Official UFC 317 Main Card Fight Line-Up
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26:Ilia Topuria of Spain prepares to face Max Holloway in ... More the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) The main card for the next pay-per-view event on the 2025 UFC schedule is set. That fight card, UFC 317, takes place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC 317, which is headlined by two title fights, is the anchor event for the 2025 edition of the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The UFC officially announced the five-fight line-up for UFC 317 during the UFC 316 broadcast. Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira - For vacant UFC lightweight title Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France - For Pantoja's UFC flyweight title Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov - Middleweight Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano - Lightweight Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa - Heavyweight ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Ilia Topuria of Spain reacts after a knockout victory ... More against Max Holloway in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Ilia Topuria (16-0) is a former Cage Warriors champion. He joined the UFC in 2020 with a 9-0 record. It did not take him long to make a name for himself. He was ranked No. 14 in the featherweight division after three UFC bouts at 145 pounds and one contest in the 155-pound division. Three of those scraps ended with Topuria winning via knockout. In his first fight as a ranked featherweight, Topuria dispatched Bryce Mitchell via submission in the second round, earned his first 'Performance of the Night' bonus and moved to No. 9 in the rankings. A matchup with No. 5 ranked Josh Emmett followed the Mitchell win. Topuria picked up a decision in a 'Fight of the Night' scrap. Topuria's next fight, saw him face Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298. Topuria entered that bout as the No. 3 ranked featherweight. He left as the champion after knocking out Volkanovski in the second stanza. In his first defense of the UFC featherweight crown, Topuria made history, becoming the first fighter to finish former 145-pound champion Max Holloway via strikes, knocking out the ex-champion in the third round of their UFC 308 meeting in October 2024. When Topuria decided to move to lightweight and give up his featherweight title, he vowed to sit until he got a 155-pound title shot. That fight takes place at UFC 317. Topuria has a 16-0 record with eight of those wins coming under the UFC banner. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Charles Oliveira of Brazil prepares to face Michael Chandler ... More during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC) Charles Oliveira (35-10-0-1) has been fighting with the UFC since 2010. He won the vacant lightweight title with his win over Chandler and defended the title once, beating Dustin Poirier. He was booked to face Justin Gaethje in his second title defense, but Oliveira missed weight for that fight, which he won by submission, losing the title on the scale. Oliveira had a chance to regain the belt in October 2022, but Islam Makhachev submitted him and claimed the vacant belt. Since that loss, Oliveira is 1-1, beating Beneil Dariush by TKO in June 2023 and losing to Arman Tsarukyan via split decision in April of this year. Oliveira is coming off a November 2024 decision win over Michael Chandler. Oliveira is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC lightweight rankings. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: UFC CEO Dana White places a title belt on Alexandre Pantoja of ... More Brazil after Pantoja's win by technical submission in the second round against Kai Asakura of Japanduring UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) is on a seven-fight winning streak heading into UFC 317. The 35-year-old Brazilian made his UFC debut in July 2017 with a split-decision win over Eric Shelton. Pantoja's career had its ups and downs over the next three years, where he went 5-3, but he has not lost since he dropped a decision to Askar Askarov in July 2020. Pantoja won the UFC flyweight title in July 2023 on the heels of two 'Performance of the Night' submission wins. Pantoja secured the 125-pound title with a split decision win over Brandon Moreno. Since that victory, Pantoja has defended his three times, beating Brandon Royval in December 2023 and Steve Erceg in May 2024. Both fights ended in decision victories. Pantoja picked up his 19th career finish in his third title defense, submitting Kai Asakura at UFC 310 in December 2024. PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 18: Kai Kara-France of New Zealand reacts after his knockout victory ... More against Steve Erceg of Australia in a flyweight fight during the UFC 305 event at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Kai Kara-France (25-11-0-1) was 17-7-0-1 when he got the call from the UFC in 2019. In his first fight with the promotion, the New Zealander faced a short-notice opponent in Elias Garcia. The two won 'Fight of the Night' honors for their efforts, with Kara-France picking up the decision win. Kara-France followed that victory with two more wins on the judge's scorecards. Then, in December 2019, he faced future champion Brandon Moreno on the early prelims of the UFC 245 pay-per-view card. Moreno won that bout by decision. Kara-France went 1-1 in his next two outings. He then tore off three straight wins between March 2021 and March 2022 and found himself as the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division. In his next outing, he faced Moreno, who was ranked No. 1, in the co-main event of UFC 277. At stake was the interim UFC flyweight title. Moreno won that contest by TKO in the third round. Kara-France followed that setback with a split-decision loss to Amir Albazi in June 2023. Kara-France was booked to face Manel Kape in September 2023, but a concussion during training camp prevented Kara-France from competing on that card, UFC 293. The 32-year-old would not return to action until August 2024, where he earned a first-round TKO win, and a 'Performance of the Night' bonus against Steve Erceg. Kara-France enters UFC 317 as the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC flyweight rankings. We will have more on the UFC 317 fight card as fight night approaches.


Forbes
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC 318 Fight Card Date, Time, Location And Ticket Prices
A BMF title fight headlines the upcoming UFC 318 pay-per-view fight card. In that contest, UFC BMF champ Max Holloway faces Dustin Poirier. The matchup marks the third meeting between the future UFC Hall of Famers. The scrap also serves as Poirier's retirement fight. Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier Lightweight for Holloway's BMF Title Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen - Middleweight Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci - Strawweight Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson - Welterweight Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira - Bantamweight Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov - Welterweight Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio - Light Heavyweight Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira - Middleweight Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari - Women's Flyweight Saturday, July 19 Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA Main Card: 10:00 p.m. ET Preliminary Card: 8:00 p.m. ET Early Prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET The lowest price non re-sale seats for UFC 318 are listed on TicketMaster at $587.70 for upper bowl seats. The highest price ticket is a front row seat for $7,506.25. The above prices include all fees and taxes. Dustin Poirier (30-9-0-1) has been a UFC fighter since 2011. At the time he had a 7-1 record. Between 2011 and 2018, Poirier went 16-4-0-1, picking up notable wins over Max Holloway, Bobby Green, Jim Miller, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, and Eddie Alvarez. His losses during that stretch came to The Korean Zombie, Cub Swanson, Conor McGregor, and Michael Johnson. Poirier's wins over Miller, Pettis, Gaethje, and Alvarez set him up to fight for the interim UFC lightweight title against then-UFC featherweight titleholder Max Holloway. Poirier was the No. 3 ranked fighter in the UFC 155-pound division at the time, April 2019. Poirier claimed the interim crown with a decision win. In September 2019, Poirier faced Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout. Nurmagomedov won that contest by third-round submission. Three wins after that, including two TKO victories over Conor McGregor, put Poirier in another lightweight title fight. He lost that battle to Charles Oliveira, falling to a rear-naked choke in the third round of their December 2021 matchup. The 36-year-old Poirier is 2-2 since that setback with wins over Michael Chandler and Benoit Saint Denis. Poirier's losses during that run came against Justin Gaethje for the BMF title and, most recently, opposite Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 302 in June 2024. Poirier has 15 fight-night bonus awards, which ties him for fourth all-time in that category. Poirier is the No. 5 ranked UFC lightweight. Max Holloway (26-8) has been with the UFC since 2012. If there's a stat that the UFC tracks, chances are Holloway is among the leaders. He holds the UFC featherweight record for wins (20), finishes (11), knockouts (nine), win streak (13 straight), total fight time (6:58:57), significant strikes landed (2,971), and total strikes landed (3,180). Holloway's overall UFC records include significant strikes landed (3,457) and total strikes landed (3,706). Holloway's run as UFC featherweight champ began in June 2017 when he knocked out Jose Aldo. Holloway entered that contest as the interim champ, a belt he won by knocking out Anthony Pettis in December 2016. He defended his title against Aldo (TKO), Brian Ortega (TKO), and Frankie Edgar (decision). He also attempted to win the interim UFC lightweight belt during that run, but he fell short, dropping a decision to Dustin Poirier. Holloway's championship run ended in December 2019 when Alexander Volkanovski beat him by decision. Volkanovski retained the title in an immediate rematch. Wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez earned Holloway another shot at Volkanovski and his title in July 2022, but the champ retained his belt with a decision win. Holloway followed that setback with wins over Arnold Allen, the Korean Zombie, and Justin Gaethje. The Gaethje victory, a fight that many voted 'Fight of the Year' and 'Knockout of the Year,' earned Holloway the BMF title. That fight took place at 155 pounds. Holloway followed his BMF title win with the first knockout loss of his career, falling to Ilia Topuria in a UFC featherweight title fight in October 2024. Holloway is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC featherweight rankings. He is also ranked at No. 12 at 155 pounds and sits at No. 12 in the pound-for-pound rankings. Poirier is 2-0 against Holloway. They first met in a featherweight scrap at UFC 143 in February 2012. The bout was Holloway's fifth pro fight and first as a member of the UFC. He was 4-0 heading into the contest. Meanwhile, Poirier had been with the WEC/UFC for two years by then with a 11-1 pro record. Poirier won that fight, and earned Submission of the Night, for his first-round triangle armbar stoppage. The two faced off for the second time in April 2019 at UFC 236. That matchup was for the interim UFC lightweight title. Poirier won that 'Fight of the Night' bonus-winning scrap. Poirier failed to unify the title, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov by submission at UFC 242 in September 2019. We will have more on the UFC 318 fight card as fight night nears.


CNA
22-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Dustin Poirier to close UFC career with Max Holloway trilogy title fight
Louisiana native Dustin Poirier is locked for a UFC BMF title fight in his home state to conclude his career, as New Orleans will host Poirier's battle with title-holder Max Holloway to highlight the July 19 card at the Smoothie King Center. This will be the third battle between the lightweight combatants, the 36-year-old Poirier, who hails from Lafayette, La., taking the first two contests. Both fighters are coming off losses in title fights, however. Poirier (30-9) submitted to Islam Makhachev last June, while the 33-year-old Holloway (26-8) lost in knockout fashion to Ilia Topuria in October. "For Dustin Poirier to be able to finish his remarkable UFC career in New Orleans is special," UFC executive vice president Peter Dropick said in a news release. "Thank you to the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, New Orleans & Company and Smoothie King Center for helping us make this happen. "It's been 10 years since we've held an event in New Orleans, we know the fans are ready for us to be back!" The Octagon will also play host to ranked middleweights No 10 Marvin Vettori (19-8-1) and No. 11 Brendan Allen (24-7), who will do battle for the first time in an official capacity at UFC 318. The two were slated to fight at UFC Vegas 90 last April, though Vettori pulled out. A few months later, the pair squared off (unofficially) in a brawl at a Florida casino. Their ranked billing remains hotly anticipated. The rest of the lineup includes newly announced fights between Kyler Phillips (12-3) and Vinicius Oliveira (22-3) at the bantamweight level, Jimmy Crute (12-4-2) facing Marcin Prachnio (17-8) in light heavyweight and Carli Judice (4-2) battling Nicolle Caliari (8-3) at women's fly. Other fights include: -No. 7 Amanda Ribas vs. No. 10 Tabatha Ricci in strawweight -Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson in welterweight -Adam Fuitt vs. Islam Dulatov in welterweight


Reuters
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Dustin Poirier to close UFC career with Max Holloway trilogy title fight
May 22 - Louisiana native Dustin Poirier is locked for a UFC BMF title fight in his home state to conclude his career, as New Orleans will host Poirier's battle with title-holder Max Holloway to highlight the July 19 card at the Smoothie King Center. This will be the third battle between the lightweight combatants, the 36-year-old Poirier, who hails from Lafayette, La., taking the first two contests. Both fighters are coming off losses in title fights, however. Poirier (30-9) submitted to Islam Makhachev last June, while the 33-year-old Holloway (26-8) lost in knockout fashion to Ilia Topuria in October. "For Dustin Poirier to be able to finish his remarkable UFC career in New Orleans is special," UFC executive vice president Peter Dropick said in a news release. "Thank you to the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, New Orleans & Company and Smoothie King Center for helping us make this happen. "It's been 10 years since we've held an event in New Orleans, we know the fans are ready for us to be back!" The Octagon will also play host to ranked middleweights No 10 Marvin Vettori (19-8-1) and No. 11 Brendan Allen (24-7), who will do battle for the first time in an official capacity at UFC 318. The two were slated to fight at UFC Vegas 90 last April, though Vettori pulled out. A few months later, the pair squared off (unofficially) in a brawl at a Florida casino. Their ranked billing remains hotly anticipated. The rest of the lineup includes newly announced fights between Kyler Phillips (12-3) and Vinicius Oliveira (22-3) at the bantamweight level, Jimmy Crute (12-4-2) facing Marcin Prachnio (17-8) in light heavyweight and Carli Judice (4-2) battling Nicolle Caliari (8-3) at women's fly. Other fights include: --No. 7 Amanda Ribas vs. No. 10 Tabatha Ricci in strawweight --Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson in welterweight --Adam Fuitt vs. Islam Dulatov in welterweight --Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira in middleweight --Field Level Media


Arab News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Dustin Poirier to close UFC career with Max Holloway trilogy title fight
Louisiana native Dustin Poirier is locked for a UFC BMF title fight in his home state to conclude his career, as New Orleans will host Poirier's battle with title-holder Max Holloway to highlight the July 19 card at the Smoothie King Center. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport