A vacant lightweight title fight between former champion, Charles Oliveira, and former featherweight titleholder, Ilia Topuria is set to take main event honors at UFC 317 at the end of next month during International Fight Week, as confirmed by the promotion tonight.
Oliveira, the current number two ranked lightweight contender, has been sidelined since last November, where he lodged his second career win over former title challenger, Michael Chandler in a five round unanimous decision win at Madison Square Garden in the co-main event of UFC 309.
And vacating his featherweight strap earlier this annum, Spanish finisher, Topuria confirmed his intention to fight at the lightweight limit — having become the first to knock out, Max Holloway in their UFC 308 title fight at 145lbs in October of last year.
Charles Oliveira books UFC 317 title fight with Ilia Topuria
Tonight on social media, UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed Islam Makhachev would be vacating his lightweight crown with a view to making a welterweight move. And revealed Charles Oliveira would now be headlining UFC 317 in a vacant title fight against the unbeaten, Ilia Topuria.
TWO title fights headline IFW
@TopuriaIlia vs @CharlesDoBronxs World Lightweight Title
@PantojaMMA vs @KaiKaraFrance World Flyweight Title
— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2025
To boot, the promotional leader also revealed Brazilian star, current flyweight kingpin, Alexandre Pantoja would be returning in a co-main event bracket against former interim title chaser, Kai Kara-France, in a bid to defend his divisional strap in his first outing of the year.
Initially winning lightweight spoils back in 2021, Sao Paulo fan-favorite, Charles Oliveira nabbed the vacant lightweight crown on that occasion, too. Headlining against the above-mentioned, Chandler, Oliveira rallied from a first round knockdown to finish the former Bellator MMA kingpin with a second round knockout in his sophomore Octagon walk.
Himself landing the featherweight title in February of last year, former Cage Warriors star, Topuria finished Alexander Volkanovski with a violent second round knockout in their main event clash in Anaheim, California.
