The UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria receals the key to his success – confidence. Ilia Topuria delivered a decisive statement at UFC 317, knocking out former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the first round to claim the vacant 155-pound title. The event, held in Las Vegas before a crowd of 19,800, marked Topuria’s return to lightweight after a dominant run as featherweight champion – a division he relinquished to pursue new challenges.
Ilia Topuria: “No Doubt, Never Ever”
The main event lasted just over two minutes, with Topuria executing a sharp right hand followed by a powerful left hook that sent Oliveira to the canvas at the 2:27 mark of the opening round. The referee intervened after Topuria landed additional strikes on the ground, securing his status as the new UFC lightweight champion and making him only the tenth fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two different weight classes.
Topuria began his professional MMA career in 2015 and made his UFC debut in 2020 with an undefeated record. He quickly established himself as a top contender in the featherweight division, scoring notable wins over Jai Herbert, Bryce Mitchell, Josh Emmett, Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway. His knockout of Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February 2024 earned him the featherweight title, ending the Australian’s four-year reign. He defended the belt once, stopping Holloway in the third round at UFC 308 before vacating the title to move up in weight.
The key to his unwavering success is his confidence, in an interview with the UFC, Ilia Topuria explained:
“I have that confidence inside myself, and I never doubt myself—there’s no doubt, never ever. Because once you start doubting yourself, that doubt increases and it switches into fear. I don’t want to experience that fear before the fight because it’s terrible. I had that kind of experience before, when I was fighting at the beginning of my professional career. I used to doubt a little bit about myself: ‘What if this happens? What if he’s going to take me down?’ Now I’m like, ‘No way!’ I’m not going to travel in the future, not going to think about if this happens or that—I’m going to be ready for everything.”
