Latest news with #TopuriaOliveira
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ilia Topuria splits from coaches in shock move ahead of UFC 317 title fight
In a surprising move, Ilia Topuria has reportedly split from his longtime coaches ahead of his lightweight title fight at UFC 317. On 28 June, Topuria will fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant belt, after Islam Makhachev relinquished the gold to pursue the welterweight title. Similarly, Topuria vacated the featherweight strap in February to chase lightweight gold. And the Spanish-Georgian, despite preparing for one of the biggest bouts of his career, has decided to split from fraternal coaches Jorge and Augustin Climent as he starts camp. That is per Spanish publication Marca, as well as MMA Fighting. Per these reports, Topuria and his brother Aleksandre – a UFC bantamweight – are parting ways with the Climent brothers on good terms. The move is apparently the result of the distance between the coaches' gym in Alicante and Topuria's residence in Madrid. Before his title defence against Max Holloway in October, the Climent brothers would travel back and forth between their gym and Madrid, with Topuria remaining in the Spanish capital. Topuria went on to knock out Holloway in round three, building on a second-round KO of Alexander Volkanovski last February, with which 'El Matador' won the 145lb title. Now, the 28-year-old is moving up to 155lb, where he stopped Jai Herbert in 2022 – but only after suffering a knockdown. In Oliveira, Topuria will take on a former lightweight champion. The Brazilian, 35, held the gold from May 2021 until May 2022, stopping Michael Chandler to win the vacant belt before submitting Dustin Poirier to retain it, and ultimately losing the title on the scales. A day before his planned title defence against Justin Gaethje, Oliveira narrowly missed weight, and so he was stripped of the belt and unable to regain it the next night. In any case, he submitted Gaethje to set up a vacant-title fight with Makhachev, who submitted 'Do Bronx' and held the gold until this month. Makhachev achieved a record four successful lightweight title defences along the way, and he now eyes 170lb glory. That means a much-desired bout between the Russian and Topuria has passed fans by – for now, at least.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Ilia Topuria moving up for title shot vs. Charles Oliveira at UFC 317
May 20 - Vying to become the 10th UFC fighter to win titles in two divisions, undefeated former featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria will face former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in UFC 317's main event June 28 in Las Vegas. Topuria (16-0), ranked as the men's No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter, has wins over Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski and Bryce Mitchell on his resume and aims to add another against Oliveira (35-10, one no-contest), who looks to become UFC's first two-time lightweight champ. In another title bout, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his crown against No. 4 contender Kai Kara-France in a matchup of former "The Ultimate Fighter" season 24 castmates. Pantoja (29-5), the No. 10 pound-for-pound fighter who excels at submissions, seeks his fourth consecutive title defense. Kara-France (25-11, 1 NC), meanwhile, eyes his first UFC title following a knockout of Steve Erceg last year. Among the other bouts on the card will be a matchup of No. 9 lightweight contender Beneil Dariush (22-6-1) clashing with No. 10 Renato Moicano (20-6-1), No. 1 flyweight contender Brandon Royval (17-7) tangling with No. 6 Manel Kape (21-7) and No. 12 middleweight contender Paulo Costa (14-4) battling No. 14 Roman Kopylov (14-3). In a middleweight matchup, Jack Hermansson (24-8) is set to go toe-to-toe with Gregory Rodrigues (16-6), while heavyweights Jhonata Diniz (9-1) and Justin Tafa (7-5, 1 NC) will also take to the ring. On the women's side, Viviane Araujo (13-6), the No. 8 flyweight contender, will face No. 10 Tracy Cortez (11-2). --Field Level Media
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ilia Topuria makes tongue-in-cheek Charles Oliveira vow ‘because I like him a lot'
Ilia Topuria has vowed to beat Charles Oliveira in the 'least painful' way possible when the pair clash over the vacant UFC lightweight title. In the main event of UFC 317 in June, Topuria aims to become a two-weight champion, while Oliveira looks to regain the belt he held between 2021 and 2022. Topuria vacated the featherweight title in February to chase lightweight gold, while 155lb champion Islam Makhachev did the same this week to pursue the welterweight belt. As such, Topuria was paired with Oliveira. 'I feel sorry for Charles,' Topuria told Alvaro Colmenero. 'Whatever is least painful for him, that's what I'll do, because I like him a lot.' While the Georgian-Spaniard's comments were tongue in cheek, they were nevertheless kinder than the words he had for Makhachev. 'He is the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen,' Topuria, 28, told Colmenero. 'He said he didn't want to give me the opportunity [in a lightweight title fight] because I was the little guy, and now the little guy is the one looking for the same opportunity I was looking for... 'Ali [Abdelaziz, Makachev's manager] should thank me for not beating his star. That's the fight everyone wanted to see. I put everything I could on the table, and they ran away. Why chase? If someone runs away, you don't have to bully them. I don't want to fight people who don't want to fight me either.' Makhachev broke the record for successful UFC lightweight title defences in January, as he submitted Renato Moicano to retain the belt for the fourth time. The Russian, 33, previously retained the gold with a submission of Dustin Poirier in June and two wins over Alexander Volkanovski in 2023. Volkanovski, who was featherweight champion at the time, was outpointed by Makhachev in their first bout and knocked out in their rematch. Meanwhile, Topuria knocked out Volkanovski last February to win the 145lb title, before retaining it with a knockout of former champion Max Holloway in October. When Topuria faces Oliveira, he will look to stay unbeaten. Oliveira, meanwhile, has tasted defeat 10 times as a professional, but the Brazilian's best run took him to the lightweight strap in 2021, when he knocked out Michael Chandler before submitting Poirier to keep the gold. In 2022, Oliveira lost the title on the scales, narrowly missing weight the day before a planned defence against Justin Gaethje. Oliveira submitted Gaethje to set up a vacant-title fight with Makhachev, who submitted the 35-year-old to begin his dominant reign.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Midnight Mania! Bones Breaks Bread With Hasbulla, Krylov Vs. Guskov, And Thick Topuria
Welcome to Midnight Mania! Let's start the night off by taking look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, May 13, 2025. UFC 317 fight card: Dana White breaks Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira headliner, vacant Lightweight title on the line: Nothing can quite compared to Topuria vs. Islam, but there's zero doubt in my mind that everyone will be extremely hyped for this Lightweight showdown by fight day. Jake Paul's MVP promotions accused of refusing to pay full purse, leaving boxer stranded in Florida: It's hard to say from the outside whether this is a case of sour grapes or genuine misconduct, but this is definitely bad optics for Jake Paul and company. Brad Tavares re-signs with UFC to try and break Michael Bisping's wins record: I'm glad UFC didn't cut Tavares off a win, that would've been poor treatment after many years of good, consistent work for the Middleweight iron man. Insomnia Breaking bread with Hasbulla does seem a whole lot easier than fighting Tom Aspinall. Advertisement I feel the need to disclose that this is fake/a meme, but it made me laugh all the same. The bright side of the best three Team Lobo fighters all struggling with cage-cutting is that the team can bring somebody in to help address the flaw ... right?!? Daniel Cormier sets the record straight, reminds 'Bones' he didn't want any smoke when 'DC' was an active Heavyweight champion. Jose Aldo's gas tank may be diminishing with age, but those skills remain SHARP! Ilia Topuria looking thick, solid, and tight ahead of his Lightweight return. Nikita Krylov making a fairly quick comeback after his first career KO loss against a dangerous puncher? What could go wrong! Advertisement Top-tier corner work ... Slips, rips, and KO clips Michael Morales' whole vibe as a fighter to me is athletic youngster who doesn't respect the punches coming his way. Think Gilbert Burns can teach him a lesson? A pretty infamous execution from a few years ago ... Awkward way to fall ... Random Land A rare white bison. Midnight Music: Indie folk, 2014 Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way. More from
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira booked to crown new UFC lightweight champion as Islam Makhachev vacates
Ilia Topuria will square off with Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, it has been announced, as the former title holders vie to crown a new lightweight champion. Topuria held the featherweight belt from February 2024 until this February, before vacating the gold to move up to lightweight, with the intention of challenging for a second title. With the Georgian-Spaniard adamant that the UFC would honour his wish, all that was left was to determine Topuria's opponent; then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev had his own plan to challenge for the welterweight strap, but said he would not fight friend Belal Muhammad, who owned that belt until Saturday. As such, Muhammad's decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena has opened the door for Makhachev to challenge for the 170lb title, meaning Topuria has been left to face Oliveira for the vacant lightweight gold. And the pair will meet at UFC 317 on 28 June, as Topuria aims to become a two-weight champion, while Oliveira tries to kickstart his second reign at lightweight. The Brazilian, 35, won the vacant title in 2021, stopping Michael Chandler to do so. He then recorded a successful title defence by submitting Dustin Poirier, but his second defence – against Justin Gaethje in 2022 – was affected by a narrow miss at the weigh-ins. Oliveira was stripped of the title the night before fighting Gaethje, and he was also ineligible to win back the gold in that bout. In any case, 'Do Bronx' submitted Gaethje, setting up a meeting with Makhachev later in 2022. In that fight, Makhachev submitted Oliveira – the greatest submission artist in UFC history, statistically – to win the belt. The Russian then achieved a record four successful title defences. A rematch was planned with Oliveira in 2023, but the Brazilian suffered a nasty cut over his eye, costing him a title opportunity. That episode occurred after Oliveira had stopped Beneil Dariush, and he has since lost to Arman Tsarukyan and beaten Chandler for the second time. The latter result, in November, marked Oliveira's most-recent outing. Meanwhile, Topuria kept his unbeaten record intact while storming to the featherweight title, which he won with a knockout of long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski last February. In October, the 28-year-old retained the belt with a knockout of former champion Max Holloway.
