Written by Ilia Topuria | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Ilia Topuria has his lightweight title shot.
UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday via Instagram Live that Topuria will fight Charles Oliveira for a vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317 on June 28 to cap off International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The belt is up for grabs with Makhachev vacating and moving up to welterweight to face new champion Jack Della Maddalena.
A date and location for Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev is still to be determined, according to White, who also announced that flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defends his title against Kai Kara-France in the co-main event.
Topuria’s lightweight championship opportunity has been rumored for months. “El Matador” vacated his featherweight title this past February with the expectation he would fight Islam Makhachev or another top contender for the lightweight belt. Much of the talk heading into UFC 315 this past Saturday revolved around whether a successful Belal Muhammad welterweight title defense would prevent Makhachev from moving up himself (Muhammad and Makhachev are friends and training partners); now, Makhachev is free to move up a division and challenge for that belt after Della Maddalena defeated Muhammad.
Topuria (16-0) seeks to become a two-division champion. “El Matador” joined the UFC in 2020 and quickly established himself as a contender, knocking off the likes of Youssef Zalal, Ryan Hall, Bryce Mitchell, and Josh Emmett en route to a title shot. He made history at UFC 298 when he knocked out Volkanovski, becoming the first fighter to beat the Australian star in a 145-pound bout, and then made history again in his title defense against Max Holloway when he became the first fighter to knock out “Blessed.”
Immediately after his fight became official, Topuria commented on social media while taking a swipe at Makhachev.
On June 28, another dream will come true. I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 pic.twitter.com/YSutHz4U2h
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) May 13, 2025
On June 28, another dream will come true. I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0
Oliveira (35-10, 1 NC) is no stranger to vacant title fights. He won the lightweight belt at UFC 262 by defeating Michael Chandler following the retirement of incumbent champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. “Do Bronx” successfully defended the title once against Dustin Poirier, but missed weight in his second scheduled defense and was stripped of the title before going on to submit Justin Gaethje. He had a chance to claim a vacant belt again at UFC 280, but was handily defeated by Makhachev.
Pantoja (29-5) vs. Kara-France (25-11, 1 NC) is a rematch of sorts, with Pantoja having previously defeated “Don’t Blink” when they were cast members on The Ultimate Fighter 24. Since then, Pantoja won the flyweight title, successfully defending it three times. Kara-France has been a mainstay in the 125-pound rankings and earns his shot after scoring a first-round knockout of recent title challenger Steve Erceg.
The UFC announced an updated lineup for the June 28 event at T-Mobile Arena, which can be seen below (bout order still to be finalized).
Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France
Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano