It’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The annual event is set to take place in Sin City with the crown jewel being UFC 317 at the T-Mobile Arena. This year’s fight card is headlined by a pair of title fights. The main event sees former champions collide when Ilia Topuria takes on Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title. Plus, Alexandre Pantoja puts his flyweight title on the line when he takes on Kai Kara-France in the co-main event.
Topuria, the former featherweight champion who gave up his crown in his pursuit of the lightweight title, was crowned CBS Sports’ 2024 Fighter of the Year after defeating Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, two all-time great featherweights, in succession. Oliveira had one of the most exciting title runs in UFC history and is poised for a sequel. The two are set to battle for the title that Islam Makhachev left vacant after he also decided to move up in pursuit of more divisional gold at welterweight.
Topuria has his eyes on even more gold if he’s successful on Saturday as he plans to move up to welterweight and challenge Makhachev, should Makhachev win the 170-pound title from Jack Della Maddalena later this year.
“I used to train with people who fought in the welterweight division. I felt very good,” Topuria said. “We had very competitive rounds and I felt I could dominate and knock out anyone in this world. When it comes to fighting, I feel I’m the best fighter in the world.
“If I go to the street and someone says something to my wife, I won’t ask for his weight, height, and reach. I will go all in. In this case, I’m going to get paid and win another world title. Why not take the risk?”
Pantoja, meanwhile is riding the best run of his career as he vanquishes every foe placed in front of him. The Brazilian is on a seven-fight win streak dating back to 2021 and has taken out just about every top contender at 125 pounds. Kara-France, meanwhile, enters on a first-round TKO of Steve Erceg in August. The two met previously in an exhibition bout as part of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016 where Pantoja took a unanimous decision.
There’s some other featured bouts that could produce exciting results on Saturday. Top flyweight contenders clash when former title challenger Brandon Royval takes on rising prospect Joshua Van. Dana White has said that the winner of this matchup will likely get the next shot at whoever holds the divisional crown. Plus, veteran lightweights meet when Renato Moicano takes on Beneil Dariush. Moicano is fresh off a title shot after tons of late card movement ended up canceling his schedule date with Dariush in January. And rising prospect Payton Talbott looks to get back in the win column when he takes on Felipe Lima at bantamweight.
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 317, along with the latest odds. Check back throughout the week for the latest news, features, and other content surrounding this massive event.
