Ilia Topuria is not anticipating his upcoming fight against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to last the full duration. “El Matador,” who seeks to become a two-division UFC champion, is scheduled to face Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of the June 28 pay-per-view, taking place in Las Vegas at the close of International Fight Week.
The undefeated Topuria made the decision to vacate his featherweight championship after successfully defending it twice against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. While he won`t be challenging Islam Makhachev, his primary goal remains claiming a second divisional belt.
Earlier this week, Topuria shared a brief training video accompanied by a caption that read, “What do you prefer, submitting him or knocking him out?” This message strongly suggests he expects to finish Oliveira to secure the lightweight championship.
Topuria`s assertion is well-supported by his track record, as he has been one of the most impressive finishers in mixed martial arts over recent years. He has only gone to a decision twice in his eight UFC appearances. His last two victories were particularly noteworthy, making history; Topuria is the only fighter to defeat Alexander Volkanovski in a featherweight bout and the only one to finish Max Holloway via knockout.
His professional record shows more victories by submission (8) than by KO/TKO (6), although seven of his submission wins occurred before he joined the UFC.
In Charles Oliveira, Topuria faces an opponent who also possesses a dangerous dual threat. “Do Bronx” has accumulated 10 KOs/TKOs and 21 submissions throughout his 46-fight career. He holds the UFC records for the most finishes overall (20) and the most submissions (16). However, his two most recent fights have gone the distance; he most recently secured a decision victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 after suffering a close split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan.
The vacant lightweight title bout between Topuria and Oliveira is the main attraction at UFC 317. The co-main event will see flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja attempting his fourth consecutive title defense against Kai Kara-France.
