UFC President Dana White has officially announced the main event for UFC`s International Fight Week, resolving months of speculation.
With just six weeks remaining until UFC 317, scheduled for June 28, the promotion had yet to reveal its headliner. It is now confirmed that Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight championship belt.
Dana White`s Surprise UFC 317 Announcement
Late this evening, UFC CEO Dana White unexpectedly took to social media to reveal the main event for UFC 317, set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 28. White is known for making major fight announcements by spontaneously going live on Instagram, and this occasion was no different.
He confirmed that Ilia Topuria will make his highly anticipated lightweight debut against former division champion Charles Oliveira. The Brazilian steps in after initial plans for Islam Makhachev to defend his lightweight title in a “champion vs champion” bout were altered, with the Russian now reportedly pursuing a welterweight title shot instead.
There had also been rumors circulating about a middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev for this event. However, it appears that matchup is being held for a later date, although both fighters have publicly indicated their verbal agreement to face each other.
Ilia Topuria Moves Up in Weight to Chase Lightweight Gold
After claiming the featherweight title by defeating Alexander Volkanovski last year and defending it against Max Holloway at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria initially faced off with Volkanovski, suggesting a potential rematch immediately after his first defense. However, he has since moved away from that idea.
Instead, he decided to move up a weight class to pursue a fight against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt. However, Makhachev is now reportedly targeting Jack Della Maddalena, who recently defeated Belal Muhammad for the welterweight championship on Saturday night.
Topuria is expected to be a relatively smaller lightweight upon his move up, having even competed for a bantamweight title earlier in his career in Cage Warriors. Nevertheless, maintaining an undefeated record in MMA, he expresses confidence that his power will successfully transfer to the higher division.
