
Ilia Topuria (17-0) has beaten popular fighter Charles Oliveira for the Vacant UFC 317 title. He said he was going to knock out Oliveira and he did it.
Topuria has gradually cemented his place as one of the best fighters in UFC’s current locker room, becoming the 10th two-weight champion in UFC history, and extending his unbeaten run after knocking out Oliveira in the first round of their title fight.
Topuria was so confident about beating Oliveira that he had a celebratory dinner before the fight.
“I represent the new era of mixed martial arts. This is the next level of the game,” he said.
Topuria has decided that he’ll fight England’s Paddy Pimblett for his first title defense so that they can fight out a beef that has been holding out since 2021.
Pimblett had commented about the 2008 Russia-Georgian war, which Topuria did not like.
Ilia was very active in the fight against Oliveira. The Brazilian tried to take him down multiple times, but Ilia escaped, knocking him out in the 3rd minute of the first round and adding to his KO list of veterans.
Ilia would now focus on Pimblett, hoping to beat him so that he could pursue a shot at fighting Islam Makhachev, a former lightweight champion who is pursuing welterweight.