Ilia Topuria made a big leap up the pound-for-pound rankings by delivering a powerful first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317 on Saturday night.
Topuria landed a crushing right hand followed by a left hook that dropped Oliveira and ended the fight just 2 minutes and 27 seconds into the opening round, fulfilling his prediction of an early finish and thrilling the crowd of 19,800 fans.
“I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts,” said Topuria, who entered the fight as a -400 favorite on BetMGM sportsbook.
Now undefeated at 17-0, Topuria boasts 10 first-round finishes. He recently moved up to the 155-pound division after a successful run as featherweight champion last year, where he won the belt with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski and defended it by stopping Max Holloway in the third round last October in Abu Dhabi.
By winning this title, Topuria became one of only ten fighters to hold UFC belts in two different weight classes and the first undefeated fighter to do so. UFC president Dana White called it “his big night” and said, “We have a star on our hands.”
Oliveira, who holds the record for most finishes in UFC history, was aiming to become the first fighter to regain the lightweight belt multiple times.
The fight also sparked tension with fellow lightweight Paddy Pimblett, who was called into the ring and confronted Topuria, leading to a heated exchange and a shove that reignited their ongoing rivalry. The two have a history, dating back to when Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria in 2022.
“That was a heavy knockout, I’ll give you that,” Pimblett said, “but you will never knock me out.”
Topuria responded confidently, “I’m going to submit you.”
In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended his title by submitting Kai Kara-France with a rear-naked choke at 1:55 of the third round. This was a rematch of their quarterfinal fight from nine years ago on “The Ultimate Fighter,” which Pantoja also won by unanimous decision.
Pantoja extended his winning streak to eight fights and marked his fourth successful title defense since winning the belt two years ago against Brandon Moreno.
Shortly after, No. 12 featherweight Joshua Van put on an impressive performance, defeating top contender Brandon Royval by unanimous decision in a thrilling battle filled with high-level boxing and relentless ground-and-pound. The fight featured 419 combined significant strikes, a UFC record for a three-round and featherweight bout. Van ended the fight by dropping Royval with an overhand right before dominating on the ground.
Van then issued a challenge to Pantoja by standing nose to nose with him after the win.
Other notable fights included No. 9 lightweight Beneil Dariush overcoming a first-round knockdown to defeat No. 11 Renato Moicano via unanimous decision, and bantamweight Payton Talbott using strong ground control to earn a unanimous decision over Felipe Lima.
