Ilia Topuria isn`t expecting his upcoming bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to go the full three rounds.
“El Matador” is set to challenge Oliveira in the main event of the June 28 pay-per-view, marking his opportunity to potentially become a two-division UFC champion as part of International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The undefeated Topuria recently relinquished his featherweight championship, which he claimed with impressive wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. While he won`t be facing Pound-for-Pound king Islam Makhachev (who also reportedly vacated his lightweight title to pursue a challenge against welterweight champion Jack Maddalena), securing a second belt remains Topuria`s primary objective.
Earlier this week, Topuria posted a brief training video accompanied by a caption that read, “What do you prefer, submitting him or knocking him out?” This strongly suggests he intends to secure a finish against Oliveira to capture the lightweight title.
Topuria`s bold prediction is supported by his track record as one of MMA`s most electrifying finishers in recent years. He has only gone the distance twice in his eight Octagon appearances, and his last two victories were significant milestones. To date, Topuria stands as the only fighter to defeat Alexander Volkanovski in the featherweight division and the only one to finish Max Holloway via knockout.
He also possesses a higher number of submission wins (8) compared to KO/TKO victories (6), although it`s worth noting that seven of his submission finishes occurred before his UFC debut.
In Charles Oliveira, Topuria faces an equally dangerous and versatile opponent. “Do Bronx” has accumulated 10 KOs/TKOs and an remarkable 21 submissions over his 46-fight career, holding the UFC records for most finishes overall (20) and most submissions (16). Oliveira`s two most recent fights have gone to decision; he bounced back from a close split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan by securing a decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 309.
UFC 317`s main event features the vacant lightweight title fight between Topuria and Oliveira. The co-main event will see flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja attempt his fourth consecutive title defense against Kai Kara-France.
