Latest news with #lightweightchampionship
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ilia Topuria vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov: Who has the better resume?
Ilia Topuria breaks down exactly why he will finish Charles Oliveira in the first round Ilia Topuria joins ahead of his vacant lightweight championship bout against Charles Oliveira to discuss the fight, Islam vacating, Paddy Pimblett, the possibility of fighting in Spain, and more.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch UFC 317: TV channel and live stream for Topuria vs Oliveira today
Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira take top billing in a huge main event at UFC 317 tonight. The eagerly-anticipated clash will see a new UFC men's lightweight champion crowned after Islam Makhachev announced his decision to vacate the title last month in order to jump up to welterweight for an intended shot at new champion Jack Della Maddalena. Topuria knows all about relinquishing belts to move up a division in search of a second, having let go of the featherweight gold earlier this year in order to move to 155 pounds and attempt to become just the 10th person in UFC history to win world titles in two different weight classes. The formidable 'El Matador' remains undefeated in his 16-bout professional MMA career so far and in eight fights with the UFC, where he is currently ranked third on the pound-for-pound list, behind only Makhachev and dominant bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. Oliveira is no2 in the lightweight rankings after beating Michael Chandler again at UFC 309 in November, bouncing back from his loss to Arman Tsarukyan having seen a first attempt to regain the lightweight championship foiled by Makhachev in Abu Dhabi in 2022. The Brazilian submission specialist had initially won the vacant title by knocking out Chandler in 2021 following the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov, successfully defending against Dustin Poirier before being stripped for missing weight ahead of his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. The co-main event of the night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will see Oliveira's compatriot Alexandre Pantoja defend the UFC men's flyweight title for the fourth time against Kai Kara-France of New Zealand. TV channel: The main UFC 317 prelims and main card will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK. Coverage begins from 1am BST on TNT Sports 1 in the early hours of Sunday morning. Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the prelims and main card action live online via the Discovery+ app and website. The early prelims are available to view in the UK from 11:30pm BST on Saturday night (June 28) via subscription service UFC Fight Pass, which costs £6.99 a month. The early prelims are live on ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and Disney+ in the USA, with the main prelims on ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and Disney+. The main card is on ESPN+ PPV at a cost of $79.99. Live blog: Follow every fight on Saturday night with Standard Sport's live blog.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UFC 317 video: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira final faceoff for vacant title bout
LAS VEGAS – UFC 317 headliners Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira got a final chance to size each other up Friday before determining a new lightweight champion. Former featherweight titleholder Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will take on former 155-pound kingpin Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) for the vacant strap left behind when Islam Makhachev agreed to move up to welterweight. There is history at stake for both sides, and the anticipated was palpable during their final encounter at ceremonial weigh-ins. Advertisement There has been tension between Topuria and Oliveira throughout the week, and they were all business at the conclusive staredown in advance of Saturday's headliner, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Check out the video above to see the UFC 317 ceremonial weigh-in faceoff between Topuria and Oliveira. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 317 video: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira final faceoff
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira booked to crown new UFC lightweight champion as Islam Makhachev vacates
Ilia Topuria will square off with Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, it has been announced, as the former title holders vie to crown a new lightweight champion. Topuria held the featherweight belt from February 2024 until this February, before vacating the gold to move up to lightweight, with the intention of challenging for a second title. With the Georgian-Spaniard adamant that the UFC would honour his wish, all that was left was to determine Topuria's opponent; then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev had his own plan to challenge for the welterweight strap, but said he would not fight friend Belal Muhammad, who owned that belt until Saturday. As such, Muhammad's decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena has opened the door for Makhachev to challenge for the 170lb title, meaning Topuria has been left to face Oliveira for the vacant lightweight gold. And the pair will meet at UFC 317 on 28 June, as Topuria aims to become a two-weight champion, while Oliveira tries to kickstart his second reign at lightweight. The Brazilian, 35, won the vacant title in 2021, stopping Michael Chandler to do so. He then recorded a successful title defence by submitting Dustin Poirier, but his second defence – against Justin Gaethje in 2022 – was affected by a narrow miss at the weigh-ins. Oliveira was stripped of the title the night before fighting Gaethje, and he was also ineligible to win back the gold in that bout. In any case, 'Do Bronx' submitted Gaethje, setting up a meeting with Makhachev later in 2022. In that fight, Makhachev submitted Oliveira – the greatest submission artist in UFC history, statistically – to win the belt. The Russian then achieved a record four successful title defences. A rematch was planned with Oliveira in 2023, but the Brazilian suffered a nasty cut over his eye, costing him a title opportunity. That episode occurred after Oliveira had stopped Beneil Dariush, and he has since lost to Arman Tsarukyan and beaten Chandler for the second time. The latter result, in November, marked Oliveira's most-recent outing. Meanwhile, Topuria kept his unbeaten record intact while storming to the featherweight title, which he won with a knockout of long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski last February. In October, the 28-year-old retained the belt with a knockout of former champion Max Holloway.
