UFC Tonight: What You Need To Know About The UFC 317 Fight Card

Forbes

10 hours ago

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 26: (L-R) Opponents Ilia Topuria of Germany and Charles Oliveira of Brazil ... More face off during the UFC 317 press conference at T-Mobile Arena on June 26, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Tonight, Saturday, June 28, the UFC is at T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the centerpiece of International Fight Week, the UFC 317 fight card. In tonight's UFC main event, former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria faces ex-UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight crown. The co-main event of tonight's card is also a title fight, as UFC flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja meets Kai Kara-France. Also on the UFC 317 main card, No. 1 UFC flyweight Brandon Royval faces the fast-rising Joshua Van. Below is the important information you need to know about tonight's UFC 317 fight card.
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Main Event - Ilia Topuria Vs. Charles Oliveira
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Ilia Topuria of Spain reacts after a knockout victory ... More against Max Holloway in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Topuria is a former Cage Warriors champion. He joined the UFC in 2020 with a 9-0 record. It did not take him long to make a name for himself. He was ranked No. 14 in the featherweight division after three UFC bouts at 145 pounds and one contest in the 155-pound division. Three of those scraps ended with Topuria winning via knockout.
In his first fight as a ranked featherweight, Topuria dispatched Bryce Mitchell via submission in the second round, earned his first 'Performance of the Night' bonus and moved to No. 9 in the rankings.
A matchup with No. 5 ranked Josh Emmett followed the Mitchell win. Topuria picked up a decision in a 'Fight of the Night' scrap. Topuria's next fight, saw him face Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298. Topuria entered that bout as the No. 3 ranked featherweight. He left as the champion after knocking out Volkanovski in the second stanza.
In his first defense of the UFC featherweight crown, Topuria made history, becoming the first fighter to finish former 145-pound champion Max Holloway via strikes, knocking out the ex-champion in the third round of their UFC 308 meeting in October 2024.
When Topuria decided to move to lightweight and give up his featherweight title, he vowed to sit until he got a 155-pound title shot. That fight takes place at UFC 317.
Topuria has a 16-0 record with eight of those wins coming under the UFC banner.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Charles Oliveira of Brazil looks on against Michael Chandler in a ... More lightweight fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Charles Oliveira (35-10-0-1) has been fighting with the UFC since 2010. He won the vacant lightweight title with his win over Chandler and defended the title once, beating Dustin Poirier. He was booked to face Justin Gaethje in his second title defense, but Oliveira missed weight for that fight, which he won by submission, losing the title on the scale.
Oliveira had a chance to regain the belt in October 2022, but Islam Makhachev submitted him and claimed the vacant belt. Since that loss, Oliveira is 1-1, beating Beneil Dariush by TKO in June 2023 and losing to Arman Tsarukyan via split decision in April of this year.
Oliveira is coming off a November 2024 decision win over Michael Chandler.
Oliveira is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC lightweight rankings.
UFC 317 Tonight: UFC 317 Co-Main Event - Alexandre Pantoja Vs. Kai Kara-France
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 08: Alexandre Pantoja celebrates after defeating UFC flyweight champion ... More Brandon Moreno during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena on July 08, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pantoja won the title by split decision. (Photo by)
Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) is on a seven-fight winning streak heading into UFC 317. The 35-year-old Brazilian made his UFC debut in July 2017 with a split-decision win over Eric Shelton. Pantoja's career had its ups and downs over the next three years, where he went 5-3, but he has not lost since he dropped a decision to Askar Askarov in July 2020.
Pantoja won the UFC flyweight title in July 2023 on the heels of two 'Performance of the Night' submission wins. Pantoja secured the 125-pound title with a split decision win over Brandon Moreno. Since that victory, Pantoja has defended his three times, beating Brandon Royval in December 2023 and Steve Erceg in May 2024. Both fights ended in decision victories. Pantoja picked up his 19th career finish in his third title defense, submitting Kai Asakura at UFC 310 in December 2024.
PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 18: Kai Kara-France of New Zealand celebrates after winning his Flyweight ... More fight against Steve Erceg of Australia during UFC 305 at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by)
Kai Kara-France (25-11-0-1) was 17-7-0-1 when he got the call from the UFC in 2019. In his first fight with the promotion, the New Zealander faced a short-notice opponent in Elias Garcia. The two won 'Fight of the Night' honors for their efforts, with Kara-France picking up the decision win.
Kara-France followed that victory with two more wins on the judge's scorecards. Then, in December 2019, he faced future champion Brandon Moreno on the early prelims of the UFC 245 pay-per-view card. Moreno won that bout by decision.
Kara-France went 1-1 in his next two outings. He then tore off three straight wins between March 2021 and March 2022 and found himself as the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division. In his next outing, he faced Moreno, who was ranked No. 1, in the co-main event of UFC 277. At stake was the interim UFC flyweight title. Moreno won that contest by TKO in the third round.
Kara-France followed that setback with a split-decision loss to Amir Albazi in June 2023.
Kara-France was booked to face Manel Kape in September 2023, but a concussion during training camp prevented Kara-France from competing on that card, UFC 293. The 32-year-old would not return to action until August 2024, where he earned a first-round TKO win, and a 'Performance of the Night' bonus against Steve Erceg.
Kara-France enters UFC 317 as the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC flyweight rankings.
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card: Beneil Dariush Vs. Renato Moicano
AUSTIN, TEXAS - DECEMBER 02: Beneil Dariush of Iran prepares before his lightweight fight against ... More Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia during the UFC Fight Night event at Moody Center on December 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Beneil Dariush (22-6-1) joined the UFC in January 2014. At the time, Dariush sported a 6-0 record with five stoppage wins. In his promotional debut, Dariush scored a first-round submission win over Charlie Brenneman. Three months later Dariush tasted defeat for the first time, suffering a knockout loss to Ramsey Nijem.
Dariush bounced back from that loss with five wins in a row, besting the likes of Daron Cruickshank (submission), Jim Miller (decision) and Michael Johnson (decision). A submission loss to Michael Chiesa ended that winning streak in April 2016.
Wins over James Vick (knockout) and Rashid Magomedov put Dariush's record at 14-2, but a rough patch between March 2017 and March 2018 left Dariush at 14-4-1 as he lost to Edson Barboza (knockout), fought to a draw with Evan Dunham and was knocked out by Alexander Hernandez.
Dariush rebounded in a big way from that winless run, picking up eight straight victories between November 2018 and October 2022. The most significant win during Dariush's impressive run was his UFC 280 decision win over Mateusz Gamrot. Following that victory, Dariush found himself as the No. 4 ranked fighter in the official UFC rankings and matched up against former UFC 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 289. Oliveira entered the contest as the No. 1 ranked fighter in the promotion's lightweight division.
Oliveira won the fight via TKO at 4:10 of the first round, ending Dariush's winning streak. A December 2023 knockout loss to Arman Tsarukyan put Dariush on the first losing skid of his career. He has not competed since the loss to Tsarukyan.
The 36-year-old Dariush looks to get back in the win column at UFC 317.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Renato Moicano of Brazil prepares to face Islam Makhachev of ... More Russia in the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 311 event at Intuit Dome on January 18, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Renato Moicano (20-6-1) was riding the first four-fight winning streak of his UFC career when he stepped in to face Makhachev at UFC 311. The 36-year-old opened his run with the promotion at 3-0 record between 2014 and 2017. Since then, Moicano has been up and down. He followed that by going 5-5 over his next 10 outings before beginning his current unbeaten streak in 2022.
Moicano is 7-1 dating back to June 2021. His only loss prior to his UFC 311 setback to Makhachev was a March 2022 unanimous decision defeat to former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in a 160-pound catchweight battle.
In April 2024, Moicano picked up his first knockout as a member of the UFC, decking Jalin Turner on the early prelims of the UFC 300 fight card.
Then, in September 2024, the UFC tapped Moicano for the first main event of his UFC career against Benoît Saint Denis. That fight ended after the second round after Moicano left Saint Denis' face bloody and swollen. The damage Moicano put on his opponent forced the doctor to wave off the fight as Saint Denis' right eye was nearly swollen shut.
Moicano enters UFC 317 as the No. 10 fighter in the UFC's 155-pound weight class.
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card: Brandon Royval Vs. Joshua Van
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 12: Brandon Royval prepares to face Tatsuro Taira of Japan in a ... More flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Brandon Royval (17-7) joined the UFC in 2020 with a 10-4 record. At the time, Royval was coming off a November 2019 submission win over Nate Williams, earning him the LFA flyweight title.
Royval did not get an easy matchup in his first UFC bout, as he was booked against former UFC flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott in a slight upset. The matchup won 'Fight of the Night' honors.
Royval followed that win with another stoppage in another 'Fight of the Night' bonus-winning scrap, submitting the favored Kai Kara-France in the second round of their September 2020 matchup.
Royval ended 2020 with a TKO loss to Brandon Moreno and began 2021 with a submission setback to Alexandre Pantoja. Both those men would go on to hold the UFC flyweight title.
Bouncing back from those losses, Royval went on a three-fight winning streak, picking up another two performance-based bonuses. Then, in December 2023, he got a chance to avenge his submission loss to Pantoja in a matchup for Pantoja's title. That bout took place at UFC 296, and although Royval went the five-round distance, he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision.
Royval returned in the win column in February 2024 with a split decision triumph over Moreno in another five-round scrap. In October, Royval defeated the rising Tatsuro Taira in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card, beating the 25-year-old by split decision.
The 32-year-old Royval has four knockout wins, nine submissions, and four decisions. Royval's losses have come by knockout (one), submission (one), and decision (five).
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 08: Joshua Van of Myanmar enters the Octagon in a flyweight fight during ... More the UFC 313 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Joshua Van (14-2) won the vacant Fury FC flyweight title in his eighth pro bout, submitting Cleveland McLean in the second round of that matchup. Not long after that, Van was booked to face Kevin Borjas on a Dana White's Contender Series Card, but the UFC plucked him from that event to face Zhalgas Zhumagulov in June 2024. Van won that contest by split decision.
Van followed that victory with wins over Kevin Borjas and Felipe Burns. In July 2024, the UFC booked Van against the more experienced Charles Johnson. While Van had success in the first two rounds, he wilted under Johnson's pressure early in the third stanza. Johnson won the bout via knockout.
Since that loss, Van has gone 4-0 with three decisions and in his most recent trip to the Octagon, a knockout.
Van has looked better in each of his UFC fights and he seems ready to face high-level competition, but the No. 1 ranked contender? No one should question Van for accepting the opportunity to face Royval, but it could be too much too soon for the 23-year-old.
Van has seven knockout wins, two submissions and five decisions. His losses have come by knockout and submission.
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card: Payton Talbott Vs. Felipe Lima
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 17: Payton Talbott poses on the scale during the UFC 311 ceremonial ... More weigh-in at Intuit Dome on January 17, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)
Payton Talbott (9-1) joined the UFC in August 2023 when UFC CEO Dana White awarded him a deal for his decision win over Reyes Cortez Jr. on a Dana White's Contender Series card. With his win that night at the UFC Apex, Talbott moved to 6-0. At the time, White said, "Payton broke the record for significant strikes tonight, I think it was 145, in that ball park, I don't have the official number (145 of 282).
"This kid is an absolute predator. He keeps moving forward. He seems unfazed by by everything that happened. He plays the mental game. He's talking to his opponent… Payton hit him (Cortez) with everything tonight. Big shots, combinations, leg kicks, head kicks, you name it. He's only 24 years old.
'If this kid can keep his head together, I can't wait to see him at 27'
Talbott shined in his first three UFC bouts, picking up stoppage wins over Nick Aguirre (submission), Cameron Saaiman (TKO), and Yanis Ghemmour (KO).
In his third outing with the promotion, the UFC decided to give Talbott a test, matching him up against a veteran competitor in Raoni Barcelos.
Barcelos was a +675 betting underdog to Talbott, who was listed at -1050, at UFC 311. Barcelos picked up eight takedowns and nearly 10 minutes of control time and added two submission attempts during the matchup. Sure, Talbott had the better striking, but he had no answer for Barcelos's focus on getting the fight to the mat.
Talbott appears to be skilled and coachable. At UFC 317, he gets the opportunity to show how he has improved his overall MMA game.
Talbott does not turn 27 until September 9.
TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 14: Felipe Lima of Brazil prepares to face Miles Johns in a featherweight ... More fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Amalie Arena on December 14, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Felipe Lima (14-1) joined the UFC in June 2024 as a late replacement for the injured Melsik Baghdasaryan against Muhammad Naimov. Lima, a former Oktagon MMA bantamweight champ, was training for a defense of that title when he accepted the call from the UFC to compete at 145. Lima ended Naimov's six-fight winning streak via submission on that night, earning a 'Performance of the Night' bonus in the process.
Lima followed that with a December 2024 decision win over Miles Johns on the UFC Tampa card.
Lima lost his first professional fight in 2015, but the 27-year-old is undefeated since then with 14 consecutive wins.
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card - Pay-Per-View
Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira - For vacant UFC lightweight title
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France - For Pantoja's UFC flyweight title
Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van - Flyweight
Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano - Lightweight
Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima - Bantamweight
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card - Preliminary Card
Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues - Middleweight
Hyder Amil vs. Jose Miguel Delgado - Featherweight
Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez - Strawweight
Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev - Lightweight
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card - Early Preliminary Card
Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith - Welterweight
Jhonta Diniz vs. Alvin Hines - Heavyweight
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card - Date
Saturday, June 28, 2025
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card - Location
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
UFC Tonight: UFC 317 Fight Card- How To Watch Or Stream
Main Card: ESPN+ PPV
Preliminary Card: ESPN
Early Preliminary Card: ESPN+
UFC Tonight - UFC 317 Fight Card - Fight Card Time
Early Prelims: 7:00 p.m. ET
Prelims: 8:00 p.m. ET
Main Card: 10:00 p.m. ET
Stay tuned for more coverage from the UFC 317 fight card, as well as results, reactions, recaps from the tonight's UFC event.