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.
