Ilia Topuria doesn`t foresee his upcoming clash with Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 going the full five rounds.
Known as “El Matador,” Topuria has the opportunity to capture a championship in a second weight class when he faces Oliveira in the main event of the June 28th pay-per-view, scheduled for International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The undefeated fighter recently vacated his featherweight title following impressive title defenses against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. While a highly anticipated fight against Islam Makhachev isn`t next (as Makhachev also vacated his lightweight title to challenge welterweight champion Jack Maddalena), Topuria`s immediate focus is securing the lightweight belt.
Topuria recently hinted at his finishing strategy, posting a training video on Tuesday with the caption, “What do you prefer, submitting him or knocking him out?” This strongly suggests his intention to finish Oliveira and become the lightweight champion.
His confidence is well-founded, given his reputation as one of MMA`s most exciting finishers over the past few years. In his eight UFC appearances, he has only gone the distance twice. His last two victories were particularly historic: he is the only fighter to defeat Alexander Volkanovski at 145 pounds and the sole competitor to finish Max Holloway via knockout.
Interestingly, Topuria holds more career wins via submission (8) than by KO/TKO (6), though it`s worth noting that seven of those submission victories occurred before his debut in the UFC.
In Charles Oliveira, Topuria faces an equally dangerous opponent capable of finishing fights in multiple ways. “Do Bronx” boasts an extensive 46-fight career with 10 KOs/TKOs and 21 submissions. He currently holds the all-time UFC records for most finishes (20) and most submissions (16). Oliveira`s two most recent bouts went the distance, including a decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 that followed a close split-decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan.
UFC 317 is headlined by the vacant lightweight title bout between Topuria and Oliveira. The co-main event features flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja aiming for his fourth successful title defense against Kai Kara-France.
