Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will clash in one of the biggest MMA fights of the year this evening, as they vie for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317.
When Topuria vacated the featherweight belt in February, he immediately set his sights on the lightweight strap, which was soon relinquished by pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev – who is similarly eyeing a title shot at a higher weight.
• UFC 317 LIVE: Follow along as Topuria and Oliveira clash over lightweight gold
While Makhachev vs Topuria would have been one of the most fascinating fights in the sport, Topuria vs Oliveira is a strong consolation. The Spanish-Georgian is unbeaten, while Brazil’s Oliveira is a former 155lb champion and holds the records for the most finishes and submissions in UFC history.
Furthermore, Topuria enters Las Vegas on the back of two straight knockouts of featherweight greats – Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway – while Oliveira dominated Michael Chandler to earn this shot at a second run with the lightweight belt.
And in the co-main event of UFC 317, imperious flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja looks to extend his reign as he faces a dangerous striker in Kai Kara-France, whom he outpointed in an Ultimate Fighter bout in 2016. Here’s all you need to know.
When is UFC 317?
UFC 317 will take place on Saturday 28 June at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The early prelims are scheduled to begin at 11pm BST (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday (5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card is then due at 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT / 9pm CT / 10pm ET on Saturday).
How can I watch it?
The card will air live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. Discovery+ will also air the action in the UK. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the event live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
Odds
Topuria – 1/4; Oliveira – 3/1
Pantoja – 2/5; Kara-France – 2/1
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Fight card (subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion)
Main card
Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira (vacant lightweight title)
Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs Kai Kara-France (flyweight title)
Beneil Dariush vs Renato Moicano (lightweight)
Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van (flyweight)
Payton Talbott vs Felipe Lima (bantamweight)
Prelims
Jack Hermansson vs Gregory Rodrigues (middleweight)
Hyder Amil vs Jose Miguel Delgado (featherweight)
Viviane Araujo vs Tracy Cortez (women’s strawweight)
Terrance McKinney vs Viacheslav Borshchev (lightweight)
Early prelims
Sedrique Dumas vs Jackson McVey (middleweight)
Jhonata Diniz vs Alvin Hines (heavyweight)
Niko Price vs Jacobe Smith (welterweight)
