Ilia Topuria, per usual, put on a masterclass performance last night in the main event of UFC 317.
Charles Oliveira is still an elite Lightweight at this stage of the game. The knocks against him are a loss to Islam Makhachev — current pound-for-pound king, in case anyone forgot — and a split-decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan, clearly one of the best Lightweights alive. If anything, the Tsarukyan loss is proof that “Do Bronx” is still very legitimate, certainly stronger evidence than beating up Michael Chandler.
Topuria walked him. He bloodied up the Brazilian almost immediately with just a handful of connections, shucked off his attempts to wrestle easily, and then smashed Oliveira with a picture-perfect right hand counter. His speed, power, and fluidity have certainly moved up with him to 155-pounds, as Topuria looked downright lethal in every exchange.
We’ve never seen anyone smoke Oliveira quite like this.
Topuria promised double champion status and a knockout alike, and “El Matador” delivered. He deserves to call his shot next, because who are we to argue? He’s on an all-time run of incredible wins, and he’s the Lightweight champion of the world now. The world is his oyster, and there are many great options.
I have to say I’m a little surprised we landed on Paddy Pimblett. “The Baddy” ended up in the cage with Topuria after his big win, the duo exchanged some words, and then a quick shove might as well have been a contract signed in blood. I’m even more surprised to say that I don’t hate this turn of events.
Objectively, the best fight to make is Topuria vs. Makhachev, pound-for-pound No. 1 vs. No. 2 (who is who is debatable). That easily could have been the main event at UFC 317, but I’m on board with Makhachev getting the opportunity to score his own double champion dreams. If both Topuria and Makhachev keeping winning, well, the stakes only raise if they meet a year from now.
Objectively, it also must be said that Pimblett isn’t necessarily the most deserving contender. Justin Gaethje is adamant that he deserves the next shot, the one he definitely earned by knocking out Dustin Poirier in July 2023. Alas, that was already two years ago, and while he may not have needed to do the UFC a solid by taking the Max Holloway fight … he did. The knockout loss happened. There’s no getting around it.
Tsarukyan has an even stronger case, the only knock against him being the last-second injury that disrupted his planned title shot earlier this year. He successfully made weight as the back up for UFC 317, which is usually a indicator that the fighter is next-in-line for a title shot. He has much better wins than Pimblett, and if we’re all being honest, would surely smoke “The Baddy” if the two ever fight.
None of this objective merit means much in the face of likely the biggest headliner of the year. Topuria and Pimblett are the UFC’s youngest, newest stars, and they hate each other! Both of them are coming off masterclass victories! Pimblett getting a title shot isn’t even particularly egregious matchmaking by modern standards, so why not make it happen?
This goldmine of a headliner has lined up perfectly, and the promotion isn’t dumb enough to pass it by. One can only hope the promotion actually takes the initiative to FINALLY give Ilia Topuria the homecoming he deserves in Spain, because the proper location could make the match up an instant icon.
For complete UFC 317 results and play-by-play, click here.
