UFC: Oliveira vs Topuria lightweight fight at 317; Du Plessis defends middleweight belt
UFC: Oliveira vs Topuria lightweight fight at 317; Du Plessis defends middleweight belt
UFC CEO Dana White announced the main and co-main events for UFC 317 that headline the promotion’s annual International Fight Week on June 28 on Wednesday.
In the main event, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will take on former featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria for the vacant lightweight title.
Oliveira is coming off a Fight of the Night-earning performance against Michael Chandler at UFC 309 last November. Former featherweight champion Topuria is fresh off back-to-back knockouts and title defences, and UFC 317 would mark the Spaniard’s return to lightweight for the first time since his 2022 KO victory over Jai Herbert.
Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will be vacating his title to move up to the UFC welterweight division to face newly crowned champion Jack Della Maddalena at a later time and date.
The co-main event will see flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja collide with the hard-hitting Kai Kara-France. Pantoja enters the fight on a 7-fight tear, with his last three outings being successful title defences. Kara-France is coming off a quick TKO over Erceg and will be aiming to make the most of his second crack at UFC gold.
White also revealed middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis’ next bout. The South African will defend his title against Khamzat Chimaev in the headliner at UFC 319 in Chicago on August 18.
Du Plessis most recently held serve in his rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, besting the former champion on the scorecards for a second time. His third defence is perhaps one of the more anticipated matchups.
Chimaev, 31, burst onto the scene in 2020, scoring three wins in one of the more stunning breakouts in recent memory. He has solidified his contender status at middleweight, and “Borz” finally gets his shot against the in-form Du Plessis.
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Published on May 14, 2025
