UFC 317 updates: Topuria knocks out Oliveira to win lightweight title

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THE KNOCKOUT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD 😱

ILIA TOPURIA IS DIFFERENT‼️👏 #UFC317 pic.twitter.com/xUpn1xLBvT

— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2025

• Ilia Topuria beats Charles Oliveira via knockout (round one, 2:27) to win the vacant lightweight title
• Alexandre Pantoja beats Kai Kara-France via rear-naked choke submission (round 3, 1:55) to defend the flyweight title
• Joshua Van beats Brandon Royval via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Beneil Dariush beats Renato Moicano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Payton Talbott beats Felipe Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Topuria delivered on his pre-fight promise to knock Oliveira out in the first round to win the lightweight crown.

Oliveira made a strong start with some kicks to the body and pushed Topuria to the fence. As the two grappled to the ground, Topuria ended up on top in side control, but Oliveira scrambled out of danger and grabbed hold of his opponent’s leg to look for a submission.

Topuria stayed composed and wriggled his leg free as the fight moved back to the feet.

Oliveira largely blocked a stiff jab, but Topuria followed it up with a monstrous straight right and then landed a left hook to the head as Oliveira fell to the ground unconscious.

The Brazilian soon recovered and got to his feet to congratulate Topuria on an incredible victory.

A MAN OF HIS WORD 😱@TopuriaIlia called his shot and got the 1st RD KO! #UFC317 pic.twitter.com/BdLxZuk8Ph

— UFC (@ufc) June 29, 2025

Rogan goes back for a final word with Topuria, who says it’s time to celebrate as he holds aloft his two belts.

He put in a phenomenal performance to knock Oliveira out cold, add the lightweight title to his featherweight crown and move to 17-0.

It will take something really special to beat the 28-year-old right now. He’s knocked out three legends of the game in succession: Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, and now, Charles Oliveira.

Topuria says he and his team planned to set up a big right with a lot of jabs.

Rogan asks the still undefeated, now two-division world champion, who is next, and Topuria says he doesn’t know, but he mentions a “blond p****” in the crowd, which I think is a reference to Paddy Pimblett.

“Whoever is ready for me, I’m here,” he says.

Pimblett grins and rubs his hands as the camera pans to him, and then Rogan invites him into the cage for a face-off.

The Liverpudlian tells Topuria: “That was a heavy knockout, respect – I give you that. But you will never knock me out.”

Topuria is chattering back with some choice words that I don’t think I can share.

“I’ll finish you, little man,” says Pimblett, then Topuria shoves him backwards and security intervenes to keep them apart.

Oliveria is back on his feet and congratulates Topuria on his astonishing win.

Dana White puts the belt around the waist of the new lightweight champion.

His knockout was at 2 minutes, 27 seconds of the first round.

“I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts,” he tells Joe Rogan. “This is the next level of the game.”

Oh my word – Topuria knocks Oliveira out cold in the first round!

Oliveira grabs Topuria’s leg, and he looks in trouble for a moment, but stays composed and scrambles his way out of danger.

They stand up, and Topuria lands big shots inside, but Oliveira closes it down with a clinch and then fires a big uppercut that just misses.

Topuria throws a jab, then hits Oliveira with a huge crunching right hand. Oliveria is out cold on his feet and Topuria even catches him as he falls with a left hook.

What an incredible performance from Topuria as he moves up in weight to win the lightweight title.

Here we go! They embrace, touch gloves, and the first of a possible five-round fight is under way.

Topuria has put on a lot of muscle to move up in weight; he’s looking chunky.

Oliveira attacks the body and legs early with some kicks as Topuria looks to explode with some punches.

The Brazilian lands a good right hand and then pushes Topuria back to the fence.

They go to the ground and Topuria ends up on top with side control.

Oliveira emerges first for the ring walk and takes the adulation of the crowd as he enters the Octagon.

It’s clear who the fan-favourite is here, as Topuria gets some boos as he makes his ring walk – although he also has plenty of support from the Las Vegas crowd.

Israel Adesanya, UFC fighter:

The former UFC middleweight champion is backing Topuria for the win:

“In this fight, I’m gonna go Ilia Topuria, I’m gonna go by knockout,” Adesanya predicted.

“I don’t know what round, but for me, it’s just because Charles [Oliveira], he gets touched too much for my liking, so I just think Ilia will find the shot, I think pretty early if Charles decides to just be aggressive like he says and push forward, and then if he gets hurt, Ilia will find that shot again.”

Chael Sonnen, retired UFC legend:

The retired MMA icon believes Oliveira can knock out the highly favoured Topuria to regain his lightweight crown and will “prove history to be wrong”.

“History is very clear on this one. You could even bring boxing into it. You’ve got two former world champions who are going to fight,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

“The smaller world champion, the guy that comes from his weight class, and the younger of the two wins every time.

“That’s a big word for me to use. Every time. Yes, every time. You will not find an exception to what I just said. And with that said, I’m taking Charles Oliveira.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov, retired UFC legend:
The undefeated (29-0) former UFC lightweight champ and the man famous for defeating Conor McGregor in that memorable bout at UFC 229 in 2018, has tipped Topuria for the victory.

“You know what I think, I think he [Topuria] can beat [Oliveira],” Khabib said on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast.

• Topuria has a perfect 16-0 fight record, including an 8-0 record in the UFC.
• Topuria is a former Cage Warriors champion who joined the UFC in 2020 with a 8-0 record.
• His UFC debut was on October 11, 2020 against Youssef Zalal, a bout won by Topuria in an unanimous third round decision.
• Topuria is the first and only fighter to knock out all-time great Max Holloway in a professional MMA bout – a feat he achieved in his last fight on October 26, 2024 at UFC 308.
• The Spaniard is ranked by ESPN as the second-best pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world, behind only Makhachev.

• Oliveira has a professional record of 35 wins and 10 losses, with one no-contest decision.
• He endured a slow start to his career, winning only two of his first seven fights while fluctuating between different weight classes.
• From 2018 to 2021, “Do Bronx” reeled off a superlative 11-fight win streak that culminated in him being crowned the UFC lightweight champion after defeating Michael Chandler in the title bout.
• He lost the lightweight title to Makhachev on October 22, 2022, when the Russian pulled off a sensational head-and-arm choke submission in the second round at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
• If he wins against Topuria, Oliveira becomes the first two-time lightweight champion in UFC history.
• Oliveira holds multiple UFC records for most submission wins at 16, most finishes at 20 and most bonuses at 20.

“In reality, I’m not very focused on what [Topuria] has been doing, but [rather] on what we can get and take,” he said.

“We are more than prepared for this fight. [Topuria] is a tough opponent, but I know the firepower I have in my hands.

“I’ll go all in, I have a promise to be fulfilled, and I’m going to get this belt.”

Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria goes up in weight to fight the legendary Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title.

“You can never count him out because he’s a dangerous guy,” Topuria said of Oliveira. “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”, he 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.”

“I’m going to finish him in the first round”, Topuria added.

If Oliveira can win back the vacant lightweight belt on Saturday, he’ll deny Topuria joining a short list of legendary two-division champions.

Oliveira is one of the greatest lightweights of all-time and Topuria – a supremely-confident competitor – cannot make the mistake of underestimating the Sao Paulo native’s contrasting skillset.

The 35-year-old’s path to victory lies in his sublime ability to grapple with opponents. Oliveira’s ground game is impressive, and his 16 wins by submission – in a variety of ways – make him both a tricky and dangerous opponent for Topuria.

“I think, for Charles [Oliveira], he’s got to be in all the way or all the way out and try to force some grappling … he needs to get on top, he needs to make him [Topuria] wrestle. We haven’t seen [Topuria] have to do that much in the UFC yet,” said Paul Felder, former MMA fighter and current UFC commentator at ESPN.

Oliveira also has advantages in height (1.78m vs 1.7m) and reach (1.88m vs 1.75m), although el Matador, famously known for his strength in the featherweight division, will likely have a power advantage against the Brazilian, despite moving up a weight class.

Topuria’s overall technical fighting talent and boxing capabilities are legendary, so Oliveira will need to be wary of trading blows with the powerful 28-year-old in the Octagon.

In 2024, Topuria sensationally knocked out two former all-time great UFC champions – Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway – to establish his dominance in a stacked featherweight division.

“Skill for skill, he might be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world … all of his opponents have stood toe-to-toe, and all have fallen,” said MMA commentator Alan Jouban on ESPN.

“He [Topuria] will finish upstairs, and he’s got power that puts you to sleep,” added Jouban.

Pantoja tells Joe Rogan that it felt “amazing” to get that win over a tough opponent, and says he’s getting better all the time.

“I think I deserve a better ranking in the pound-for-pound [list],” he says.

Joshua Van, who beat Brandon Royval in the last fight, will be the next contender for Pantoja’s flyweight crown, and he comes into the Octagon.

Van says, “He’s a great champion, but he ain’t never fought Joshua Van.”

Pantoja says: “He’s a helluva guy and he’s going to fight [me] for the championship next.”

They stand nose to nose, and then Pantoja smiles after they break away.