MMA News

Tag: UFC 317

  • Ilia Topuria To Headline UFC 317 Against Charles Oliveira For Vacant Lightweight Belt

    Ilia Topuria To Headline UFC 317 Against Charles Oliveira For Vacant Lightweight Belt

    After much anticipation, UFC 317 has its main event locked in.

    UFC 317

    On Tuesday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Ilia Topuria will square off against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317 on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, capping off the promotion’s annual International Fight Week.

    The UFC lightweight throne is now vacant as reigning champion Islam Makhachev sets his sights on welterweight gold, targeting a high-profile clash with newly crowned titleholder Jack Della Maddalena, with their potential showdown expected to take place later this year.

    Topuria vacated his featherweight title ahead of UFC 314 to make a permanent move up to lightweight, with the goal of becoming a two-division champion. “El Matador” last graced the Octagon at UFC 308 in October, where he delivered a stunning knockout victory over Max Holloway, further extending his undefeated promotional record to 8-0.

    Meanwhile, Oliveira will be pursuing the undisputed 155-pound title for the third time, riding high on a dominant unanimous decision victory over Michael Chandler in their November rematch at UFC 309. “Do Bronx” claimed the lightweight crown at UFC 262 with a dominant win over Chandler. The Brazilian then successfully defended his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269.

    However, after missing weight for his second defense, the Brazilian was stripped of the belt, only to bounce back with a submission victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. Oliveira had another shot at the vacant title at UFC 280, but was soundly outclassed by Makhachev.

  • ‘If The Man Don’t Want It Let’s Move On’ – Magomed Ankalaev Claims He Was Offered Alex Pereira Rematch For UFC 317

    ‘If The Man Don’t Want It Let’s Move On’ – Magomed Ankalaev Claims He Was Offered Alex Pereira Rematch For UFC 317

    One day removed from UFC 315, in spite of promises made in the days leading up to the event, there is still no announced main event for UFC 317 on June 28 in Las Vegas — as part of the UFC’s annual International Fight Week.

    The expectation had been (and still is) that Ilia Topuria would be involved in the main event for a lightweight title fight — either against Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira.

    But on X (formerly Twitter) on May 11, one champion spoke up about supposedly receiving an opportunity to headline the card — UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev.

    Ankalaev’s next fight is expected to be a rematch with former champion Alex Pereira, and Ankalaev claims that such a rematch was offered to him for one of the UFC’s biggest annual events. Ankalaev defeated Pereira to win the UFC’s 205-pound title at UFC 313 in March.

    Ankalaev says he is still up for competing at the event — even if he suggests Pereira might not be.

    Magomed Ankalaev Suggests He’s Ready, Was Offered To Fight At UFC 317

    This comes just a couple of days after Pereira’s own account had a post that claimed he was being mistreated by the promotion — only for Pereira to make another post hours later claiming his account was hacked.

    Daniel Cormier himself, for what it’s worth, claims Pereira is lying and saying the post was the result of negotiations going awry.

    Dana White, UFC’s CEO, seemed to confirm earlier this week that the plan for UFC 317’s headline bout would have been Topuria vs. Makachev (with a win for Belal Muhammad at UFC 315) or Topuria vs. Oliveira (with a win by Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315).

    JDM won the welterweight title this weekend, with people subsequently assuming that the result would be Makhachev moving up to welterweight and Topuria and Oliveira fighting for a vacant title next month.

    But White did not show up to the UFC 315 post-fight press conference, and UFC executive David Shaw claims the main event should be announced within the coming days.

    What might not be helping this would-have-been-simple layout — Makhachev insisting he’s moving up to challenge JDM and be a double champion, not desiring to vacate the lightweight title.

  • Ilia Topuria Confirms Bombshell Return Announcement For UFC 317

    Ilia Topuria Confirms Bombshell Return Announcement For UFC 317

    Ilia Topuria finally has a date circled on the calendar for his long-awaited return to the Octagon.

    Topuria has been itching to get back into action ever since voluntarily relinquishing the UFC Featherweight Championship in February, aiming to fast-track a showdown with reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev.

    But despite his ambitions, Makhachev’s camp has shown little to no interest in entertaining a title shot for the undefeated Spaniard—at least not in the immediate future.

    Last month, reports surfaced suggesting that “La Leyenda” could be in line for a lightweight title opportunity —either against Makhachev or for a vacant belt, with June as a potential target. The buzz intensified when Topuria took to social media, revealing that he had already kicked off training camp in preparation for the highly anticipated bout.

    On Friday, Topuria officially confirmed his next fight will take place at UFC 317 on June 28, as part of UFC International Fight Week at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada—though he left fans guessing by not yet revealing his opponent.

    The former UFC Featherweight Champion dropped the announcement through Spanish media shortly after receiving the prestigious Grand Cross of the Order of the Second of May from the Community of Madrid.

    “I would like to thank the Community of Madrid and its president for this recognition by the Grand Cross of the Order Dos de Mayo,” Ilia Topuria said. “I am very sorry for not being able to be there with you. But I’ve got training ahead of me, and I hope to make you all happy again on June 28.”

    “La Leyenda” was last seen at UFC 308 in October, where he delivered a stunning knockout of Max Holloway in his first title defense. That dominant performance followed his breakout showing at UFC 298 in February 2024, where he dethroned Alexander Volkanovski to capture the UFC Featherweight title.

    Ilia Topuria remains unbeaten in the UFC, boasting a flawless 8-0 record, with six of those victories coming by way of finish.

  • Ilia Topuria To Fight For Lightweight Title At UFC 317, With Or Without Islam Makhachev

    Ilia Topuria To Fight For Lightweight Title At UFC 317, With Or Without Islam Makhachev

    It would seem that former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has gotten his wish for an immediate shot at adding lightweight gold to his trophy collection.

    Topuria has set his sights on achieving two-division glory after choosing to vacate the 145-pound title this year following just one defense. “La Leyenda” went 2-0 in 2024, dethroning Alexander Volkanovski before becoming the first to knock out Max Holloway.

    Due to an apparent struggle to make the weight limit, the Spaniard will move forward as a 155-pounder. And given his success below, Topuria has been expecting a showdown with Islam Makhachev straight away.

    Whether that’s the matchup or not remains to be seen, but a report from Spanish journalist Álvaro Colmenero does place Topuria as one half of the next lightweight title fight.

    According to Colmenero, the ex-featherweight kingpin will compete either against Makhachev or for a vacant belt at UFC 317 during International Fight Week this June.

    Previous speculation has suggested that Makhachev is awaiting the result of the UFC 315 headliner between his frequent training partner Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena before deciding on a possible move up to welterweight.

  • Brandon Royval, Manel Kape Rebooked For Potential Flyweight Title Eliminator At UFC 317

    Brandon Royval, Manel Kape Rebooked For Potential Flyweight Title Eliminator At UFC 317

    The lineup for UFC International Fight Week 2025 is starting to take shape.

    On Thursday, a report from Laerte Viana stated that Brandon Royval and Manel Kape have been rebooked for a high-stakes flyweight bout at UFC 317, set to take place on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    With a potential title shot at stake, Royval and Kape were originally set to headline UFC Vegas 103 last month. However, “Raw Dawg” was forced to withdraw nearly a month before the fight after sustaining multiple concussions during training.

    Meanwhile, Kape remained on the card and earned a debated third-round TKO victory over short-notice replacement Asu Almabayev. The win added to the momentum he built with his dominant third-round knockout of Bruno Silva in December.

    “Starboy” was on a four-fight win streak, including finishes over Zhalgas Zhumagulov and Ode’ Osbourne. However, his surge came to a halt at UFC 304 in July 2024, where he fell short against Muhammad Mokaev via unanimous decision.

    On the other hand, Royval last competed in October, securing a hard-fought split decision victory over rising prospect Tatsuro Taira. Just earlier that year, he also edged out former champion Brandon Moreno in another split decision win in February 2024.

    “Raw Dawg” had previously challenged reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja for the 125-pound title at UFC 296 in December 2023. However, his bid for gold ended in disappointment as he suffered a one-sided unanimous decision defeat.

    As of now, no other fights have been officially confirmed for UFC 317. However, rumors suggest that a middleweight clash between former title challenger Paulo Costa and Roman Kopylov, as well as a lightweight showdown featuring veteran Michael Johnson and rising prospect Daniel Zellhuber, are in the works.

  • Report: Paulo Costa’s First Fight Since Sean Strickland Dud Targeted For UFC 317

    Should current plans come to fruition, UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa will bring to an end a one-year layoff at this year’s edition of International Fight Week.

    Costa (14-4) went 0-2 last year after returning to action for the first time since a 2022 win over Luke Rockhold. After playing his part in a memorable three-round battle with Robert Whittaker, “Borrachinha” figured in the opposite versus Sean Strickland.

    While he also lost via the scorecards to the American former champ, their five-round affair at UFC 302 last June was widely criticized and branded lackluster.

    In the aftermath, Costa vowed to return to the all-out aggression that he formerly displayed inside the Octagon. And a recent report suggests he’ll have the chance to do so on June 28.

    According to Benny P — an Australian insider who has frequently broken news regarding the likes of Jack Della Maddalena and Robert Whittaker — a clash between Costa and the #15-ranked Roman Kopylov (14-3) is in the works for UFC 317.

    Kopylov opened his account for 2025 by stopping Chris Curtis with a last-second head kick at the Apex in January. Having previously outpointed Cesar Almeida, the Russian has now won two straight since Anthony Hernandez handed him his only loss across the past seven fights.

    There are currently no confirmed fights for UFC 317 on June 28. But with it set to mark the conclusion of International Fight Week this year, a stacked lineup is expected to take shape.

  • Michael Chandler Pitches Matchup For UFC 317 Return At International Fight Week

    Michael Chandler Pitches Matchup For UFC 317 Return At International Fight Week

    Former UFC lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler is eyeing his next fight — and he’s got both an opponent and date in mind.

    Chandler last competed in November 2024, returning from an ultimately failed layoff awaiting a planned showdown with Conor McGregor. Instead, “Iron” ran it back with Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.

    While he came close to defeating “Do Bronx” first time around to capture the title, he was soundly beaten in their rematch. And the result has left Chandler with a negative 2-4 record under the UFC banner.

    The American will look to rectify that in 2025, potentially starting with a showdown opposite a rising name in the division this summer.

    After a long period of speculation regarding a potential clash between Chandler and Paddy Pimblett, the former took to his Instagram Stories this week to pitch it for the International Fight Week-headlining UFC 317 event on June 28.

    Pimblett most recently moved to 6-0 in the UFC with an emphatic first-round submission win over King Green last year, catapulting him into the rankings at #12.

    “The Baddy” has since repeatedly teased a pursuit of Chandler next time out. And if the ex-Bellator champ’s post is any indication of the UFC’s plans, it looks as though he could be getting his wish in 2025.