And there is it. After weeks of speculation and the spectre of Islam Makhachev nearly overshadowing the main event of UFC 315, the UFC has pulled the trigger on the UFC 317 main event, and it’s a lightweight title fight… not featuring champ Makhachev.
Instead, Ilia Topuria (16-0), who vacated his 145lb title months back to make the jump to lightweight, will face Charles Oliveira (35-10, 1NC) for what is presumably now the vacant UFC lightweight championship. News of the booking was announced by Dana White and UFC officials on Tuesday, and the word “interim” was conspicuously absent from the verbiage used.
Just days earlier, Makhachev (or someone representing him on social media) posted that he would not be vacating his lightweight title, though he did have eyes on moving up to welterweight. With teammate Belal Muhammad dethroned at 170lbs by Jack Della Maddalena, the time is now for Makhachev, who will presumably fight JDM later this year.
Dana White would confirm Makhachev will vacate his lightweight title. In the meantime, it’s Topuria vs. Oliveira for the 155lb strap in the main event of UFC 317.
Topuria is coming off his only title defense at featherweight, which saw him finish Max Holloway. Oliveira, meanwhile, defeated Michael Chandler for the second time back in November.
Joining that fight on the UFC 317 card, which caps off this year’s International Fight Week, is a flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France. In addition, the following match-ups were announced on Tuesday:
- Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov
- Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa
- Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape
- Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez
UFC 317 takes place on June 28, 2025 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
