Latest news with #lightweighttitle
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
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Topuria to face Oliveira at UFC 317 for lightweight belt
Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title at UFC 317 in Las Vegas on 28 Topuria, 28, has the chance to become a two-division champion after vacating his featherweight belt earlier this year to move up a division. Brazil's Oliveria, 35, is a former champion and fighting in a title fight for the first time since defeat by Islam Makhachev in bout for the belt has been made after Russia's Makhachev said he would be moving up to welterweight to challenge new champion Jack Della Maddalena, who beat Belal Muhammad at UFC 316 last week."This Saturday's main event will define what my next move is," Makhachev wrote on X last week., external"But regardless of outcome of that fight, I'm not going to vacate my lightweight title! We might get real contender there."Following Australian Della Maddalena's victory in Montreal, Makhachev said "time to become a double champion".Topuria has won the first 16 fights of his career and has fought once before at lightweight in the UFC, stopping Englishman Jai Herbert in 2022. His past four fights at featherweight included statement wins over UFC greats Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway last is a veteran and fan-favourite in the promotion who holds the record for the most finishes in UFC history, with 20. Ramifications for Pimblett - analysis The bout between Topuria and Oliveira is a mouth-watering prospect for MMA stellar recent run has seen him become one of the most exciting fighters on the roster, while Oliveira's rate of 20 finishes in 34 UFC bouts is matched by nobody in the person in particular who will be keeping an eye on this fight is Britain's Paddy stopping Michael Chandler in a sensational performance last month, Pimblett named Topuria and Oliveira as two of five options he could fight 30-year-old also named American Dustin Poirier, who has since been slated to face Holloway at UFC 318 in raises the possibility of Pimblett fighting American Justin Gaethje or Armenia's Arman Tsarukyan next, with the pair being the only fighters name-dropped by the Briton who don't have a fight confirmed.
