Oliveira

LAS VEGAS — Ilia Topuria continued his ascension up the pound-for-pound ladder with a major statement via a vicious first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight championship Saturday night at UFC 317.

Topuria used a sharp right hand to set up a devastating left hook that dropped Oliveira to end the bout at the 2:27 mark of the opening round, fulfilling his prediction of a first-round KO while sending the announced crowd of 19,800 into a frenzy.

“I always say I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts,” said Topuria, who closed a -400 favorite at BetMGM sportsbook.

Topuria (17-0), who now has 10 first-round finishes to his credit, moved up to the 155-pound weight class following a successful campaign in the featherweight division last year. He claimed that belt with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski and defended his title by finishing Max Holloway in the third round of an October bout in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Topuria, who came in ranked fourth on UFC’s pound-for-pound list, joined nine others who have held a UFC belt in two weight classes. He is the first undefeated fighter to become champion in two UFC divisions.

“I think tonight was his big night,” UFC CEO and president Dana White said. “We have a star on our hands.”

Oliveira (35-11), who has the most finishes in UFC history, was hoping to become the first fighter to win the lightweight belt on separate occasions.

Fellow lightweight Paddy Pimblett was in the audience and summoned to the ring, where a heated exchange led to Topuria shoving the eighth-ranked contender and igniting a rivalry from years ago.

“If you’re ready, I’m here,” Topuria shouted to Pimblett before he entered the ring.

White wasn’t happy with Pimblett getting in the ring, knowing the history of bad blood between the two.

The two have been at odds for some time, after they came to blows when Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria’s head in 2022.

“That was a heavy knockout, I’ll give you that,” Pimblett said to Topuria. “But you will never knock me out.”

Replied Topuria: “I’m going to submit you.”

In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) successfully defended his belt by applying a rear-naked chokehold to defeat Kai Kara-France (25-12) at the 1:55 mark of the third round.

It marked the second time the fighters met, nine years after their quarterfinal clash on the reality show “The Ultimate Fighter,” also won by Pantoja, but by unanimous decision.

Pantoja, who closed a -250 favorite and extended his win streak to eight fights, won the title two years ago when he beat Brandon Moreno by decision, and has now defended his title successfully four times.

Ilia Topuria celebrates after defeating Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight at UFC 317 Saturday in Las Vegas.

(John Locher / Associated Press)

The 35-year-old Brazilian was joined in the ring after his victory by No. 12 Joshua Van, who put on a show of his own.

Van (15-2-0) defeated No. 1 contender Brandon Royval (17-8-0) in a slugfest in which both fighters displayed incredible boxing skills. Van, who closed a -120 favorite, used an overhand right to drop Royval before closing out the bout with a severe ground-and-pound to secure the unanimous decision.

The 419 combined significant strikes landed were the third most in a UFC fight, and the most in both a three-round bout and a featherweight clash.

Moments after Pantoja’s win, Van challenged Pantoja with both standing nose to nose before exiting the octagon.

Other matches from the main card:

In a lightweight bout, No. 9 Beneil Dariush (23-6-1) survived a first-round knockdown to defeat No. 11 Renato Moicano (20-7-1) via unanimous decision.

In a bantamweight battle, Payton Talbott (10-1-0) used a much-improved ground game to register a unanimous decision over Felipe Lima (14-2-0).

Ramirez writes for the Associated Press.

Topuria delivers on his promise to win via first-round knockout after moving up in weight to fight Oliveira.

Spain’s Ilia Topuria scored a stunning first-round knockout victory over Charles Oliveira to claim the UFC lightweight title at UFC 317, with Alexandre Pantoja securing a third-round submission win over Kai Kara-France to retain the flyweight title in the co-main event.

Former featherweight champ Topuria announced in February that he was going to step up to the 155-pound (70kg) division to fight for the belt vacated by former champ Islam Makhachev’s move up to the welterweight division.

Standing between him and the title on Saturday evening was 35-year-old Brazilian former lightweight champ Oliveira, who briefly brought his vast experience to bear before being defeated.

After a dominant run at featherweight, which saw him move to 16-0 as a professional, Topuria, who was born in Germany to Georgian parents, looked small in the cage compared with Oliveira, but he defended well against the Brazilian’s grappling before showcasing his striking power.

Oliveira, who was stripped of the lightweight belt in May 2022 when he missed weight for a defence against Justin Gaethje, looked good during a brief exchange on the mat, but Topuria disengaged to bring the fight back to the feet, and shortly afterwards, Oliveira’s evening ended.

The 28-year-old stunned Oliveira with a crunching right hand and followed it up with a left hook that sent Oliveira crashing to the mat. His eyes glazed as his back hit the canvas and Topuria fulfilled his pre-fight prediction of a first-round knockout win.

“I already said it – I represent the new generation of the mixed martial arts – this is the next level of the game. This is the next thing, and this is what I represent,” Topuria said in a post-fight interview.

“I did exactly what we had planned: lot of jabs, right hand, left hook, and boom – his lights were out.”

In the co-main event, Brazil’s Pantoja dominated New Zealander Kara-France before taking his back and locking in a rear naked choke 1 minute and 55 seconds into the third round to defend his flyweight crown.

Elsewhere on the main card, Joshua Van beat Brandon Royval via unanimous decision at flyweight, while Beneil Dariush beat Renato Moicano via unanimous decision in their lightweight bout, and Payton Talbott defeated Felipe Lima via unanimous decision at bantamweight.