Who will be crowned the new Lightweight Champion?
Ilia Topuria is coming in off a successful run in the featherweight division. The former UFC Featherweight Champion may have not held the belt for a long period of time, but the 28-year-old beats the division’s best as he’s fresh off wins over Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria comes into his fight against Charles Olivera undefeated, though this is his first bout in the 146-pound division. Topuria’s record currently stands at 16 wins and 0 losses.
Charles Olivera is a former UFC Lightweight Champion so he’s the perfect first opponent for Topuria. Olivera stumbled a bit when he was forced to vacate the belt due to not making weight, but he managed to get wins over Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler. Olivera’s record stands at 35 wins and 10 losses.
For the UFC Flyweight title, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his belt for the fourth time. Pantoja is currently on a nice seven-fight winning streak; he’s beaten Manel Kape, Brandon Moreno, Steve Erceg, and Kai Asakura, with three of those wins coming by submission. Pantoja’s professional record stands at 29 wins and 5 losses.
His challenger, Kai Kara-France, is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Steve Erceg at UFC 305. Kai has won the four out of his last six fights, with three of those wins coming via knockout. Kai’s record stands at 25 wins and 11 losses.
Check out the advertised line-up for tonight’s show:
UFC 317 Main Event on ESPN+ PPV:
155 lbs.: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira for vacant Lightweight championship
UFC 317 Main Card on ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France
155 lbs.: Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
125 lbs.: Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van
135 lbs.: Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima
UFC 317 Late ‘Prelims’ Under Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues
145 lbs.: Hyder Amil vs. Jose Delgado
125 lbs.: Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez
155 lbs.: Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
UFC 317 Early ‘Prelims’ Under Card on ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines
170 lbs.: Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith