Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira, not Islamic Makachev, in the vacant lightweight title in the UFC 317 main event.
Ilia Topuria is about to add a second ultimate fighting championship belt to his collection when he discovered UFC 317 on June 28th.
After weeks of expectations for a potentially blockbuster showdown between the superstar pair, former uncontroversial featherweight champion Topuria will face off against former champion Charles Oliveira and vacant lightweight titles, UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday.
Four-time defending champion Makhachev moved to welterweight with a light belt open and defeated Beral Muhammad at UFC 315 last Saturday to become the new title holder in the weight class. The date for that battle has not been announced yet.
Topuria’s perfect UFC record is 16-0. The Spaniard abandoned his 145-pound featherweight title earlier this year and expressed his dissatisfaction with taking him to social media to free up the Russian title belt in anticipation of a lightweight title showdown against Makhachev.
“Another dream will come true on June 29th,” writes Topuria. “I will be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles (Oliveira), I apologize in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s a shame that Makhachev has escaped.”
Boasting 27-1 UFC records, Makhachev is ranked by ESPN as the best pound UFC fighter in the world. Topuria ranks second.
UFC 317 is scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
