We’re three days away from UFC 317.
Two huge title fights headline the upcoming pay-per-view as Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will fight for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France will co-main event the show with a flyweight title bout.
The UFC 317 Countdown video will focus on both title fights, including Topuria’s decision to move up to lightweight, Olivera’s desire to become a two-time champion, and Pantoja looking to solidify himself as the best champion in the UFC with a fourth win.
It’s been a whirlwind year for Topuria. He started 2025 off as the featherweight champion before making the shocking announcement that he would be vacating the belt and moving up to the lightweight division.
There were various factors for Topuria’s decision, with Dana White citing his struggles to make weight, the lack of competition in the featherweight division, and his desire to move up to the lightweight division permanently.
Now Topuria has a chance to conquer the 146-pound division. The 28-year-old comes into the fight undefeated and he’s beaten some of the best fighters like Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanski, and Josh Emmett throughout his run so far. But the lightweight division is a different beast.
His opponent, Charles Olivera, is a former UFC Lightweight Champion who has soundly beaten Dustin Poirier, Justin Gatheje, and Tony Ferguson in the last five years. Olivera stumbled a bit by losing to Islam Makhachev, but he regained some momentum thanks to his incredible performance against Michael Chandler at UFC 309.
Alexandre Pantoja is on his way to cementing his legacy within the UFC. Though Demetrious Johnson still holds the record for eleven title defenses in the division, Pantoja is slowly making a case for himself thanks to his tremendous performances following his huge victory against Brandon Moreno at UFC 290.
France is looking to rebound after failing to capture the belt at UFC 277. The Flyweight title challenger hasn't had it easy since that crushing loss, and is determined to make sure that he won’t relive that devastating night this Saturday.
As always, these countdown videos do an excellent job of providing more depth to the big matches both on a personal and professional level. Feel free to check out the full video here!