UFC 317 was an occasion stuffed with fighters making massive statements. Nonetheless, most of these proclamations got here through their actions contained in the Octagon on Saturday night time.
Maybe the most important assertion of the night time was in the primary occasion, when former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria continued his run of bulldozing by way of a few of the sport’s most notable fighters by disposing of former light-weight champion Charles Oliveira through first-round knockout to say the light-weight belt. Earlier than this win, Topuria picked up knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.
Earlier within the night time, the boys’s flyweight division took heart stage as Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van earned spectacular wins over Kai Kara-France and Brandon Royval, respectively. Will their wins arrange the subsequent title struggle within the 125-pound division?
Following one of the vital thrilling UFC pay-per-view occasions of the yr, how ought to the long run matchmaking play out? Here is what ought to be subsequent for the highest fighters from UFC 317.
Ilia Topuria, light-weight
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Topuria eyes ‘large struggle’ vs. Pimblett following Oliveira conflict
Ilia Topuria reveals his future struggle plans if he beats Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC light-weight title.
Who ought to be subsequent: Winner of Paddy Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje
The apparent reply is Pimblett, besides that final week, Topuria informed me he thought Pimblett ought to get yet one more win earlier than combating for a title. He mentioned it was solely “truthful” to make Pimblett, ESPN’s No. 5-ranked light-weight, struggle as soon as extra. It was a real assertion when he mentioned it, and it is nonetheless true now.
Gaethje says the UFC owes him a title struggle, and in a approach, he is proper. It goes again to him placing a light-weight title shot on the road to do the corporate a favor and struggle Holloway at UFC 300. The straightforward reality, although, is he will not get a struggle towards Topuria with out taking yet one more. He is ranked increased than Pimblett, however Pimblett has all of the fan momentum. I consider the UFC ought to “make it proper” with Gaethje by reserving the Pimblett struggle, if he needs it. If he does not need it, transfer forward with Topuria versus Pimblett. But when Gaethje is prepared to just accept it and inform himself, “OK, I deserve a title shot, however generally you do not all the time get what you deserve on this sport and I do not need to retire,” then this struggle is smart.
Wildcard: Dustin Poirier
The wildcard of all wildcards. I doubt it will occur, but when Poirier had been to knock out Holloway subsequent month in what is supposed to be his retirement struggle in New Orleans, who’s to say Topuria does not ask for Poirier? Poirier is the type of legend that does not come alongside every single day, and Topuria may need to add that to his résumé. Even when all of that had been to occur, Poirier may retire anyway.
Charles Oliveira, light-weight
Who ought to be subsequent: Max Holloway
That is a type of matchups that has all the time been there — an apparent possibility if and when Holloway moved as much as 155 kilos. Whether or not he wins or loses at UFC 318 subsequent month, followers and pundits will doubtless begin speaking about Holloway versus Oliveira. So long as Topuria is the light-weight champion, Holloway and Oliveira — each of whom Topuria has knocked out – are just about on the surface of the title image, however the matchup can be a banger. Holloway and Oliveira fought as soon as at featherweight again in 2015, and the struggle was minimize extraordinarily brief when Oliveira suffered a freak neck damage.
Wildcard: Retirement
Regardless of closing in on practically 50 skilled fights, Oliveira does not appear anyplace near retirement. He is all the time maintained a wholesome motivation for the sport. And though he is seemingly been round eternally, he is solely 35 years previous. That mentioned, as a result of he is been on the high of the game for therefore lengthy, there aren’t many fights left that make a lot sense. He is a type of beloved figures you do not need to see struggle simply to struggle. The UFC can nonetheless discover fights for Oliveira and can — I actually do not count on him to retire after this loss — but it surely’s price throwing this selection in as a wildcard as a result of Oliveira has nothing left to show.
Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van, males’s flyweights
What ought to be subsequent: Pantoja vs. Van for the flyweight championship
Van has actually come out of nowhere. However that is the struggle to make. Brandon Moreno has performed greater than Van in his profession, after all, and he is seemed good since taking a quick hiatus from the game in 2024, however MMA likes to go together with the recent hand, and Van is on fireplace proper now.
Kudos to the UFC for recognizing this and appearing shortly on it. Pantoja needs to characterize the division in essentially the most entertaining approach attainable, and Van is all leisure proper now. Is he prepared for Pantoja? The affordable reply is almost definitely no. All of it has occurred so quick for the 23-year-old, and Pantoja is legitimately an all-time nice. No disrespect to any matchup that got here earlier than it, however that is essentially the most intriguing males’s flyweight title struggle in latest reminiscence.
Kai Kara-France, males’s flyweight
Who ought to be subsequent: Manel Kape
It is a bit of a heartbreaker for Kara-France. All losses are — particularly title fights — however Kara-France was so emotionally and mentally invested on this title alternative, and Pantoja didn’t permit him to get going. This loss will sting, however if you wish to give Kara-France a matchup that may immediately flip the fireplace again on, it is Kape.
These two have been eyeing each other from a distance for years. There have been totally different notes to the rivalry, but it surely boils right down to a easy private dislike for each other. They had been presupposed to struggle in 2023 in Australia, however Kara-France suffered a concussion and was compelled to bow out. That is the obvious struggle to e-book in the whole flyweight division proper now.
Wildcard: Kai Asakura
Asakura is scheduled to face Tim Elliott at UFC 319 in August. If Asakura wins, he’ll be ranked inside the highest 10, and this matchup will begin to bounce off the web page. There are similarities between these two — particularly, their excessive knockout potential. Whether or not this matchup finally ends up being subsequent or occurs down the highway, you may wager we’ll finally see Kara-France vs. Asakura in a UFC Combat Evening most important occasion or on a pay-per-view most important card.
Payton Talbott, males’s bantamweight
Who ought to be subsequent: Adrian Yanez
This struggle confirmed how fickle MMA might be. Talbott was being touted as the subsequent massive factor at bantamweight, however due to one poor efficiency towards veteran Raoni Barcelos in his final bout Talbott got here into this one with little hype. Felipe Lima was a big betting favourite, and a story had began to type that Talbott could not wrestle. It was a giant bounce-back win that places Talbott proper again to the place he was earlier than the Barcelos loss. I are likely to need to give him the matchup he needs, which is Yanez, whom he talked about in his postfight interview. Yanez as soon as had lots of hype however has struggled with some inconsistent performances. Talbott’s swag is again, and one would assume Yanez can be excited to face a budding prospect who has been calling him out.
Wildcard: Aleksandre Topuria
The UFC ought to need eyes on Talbott. Lima was a giant take a look at six months after a struggle by which Talbott’s grappling wasn’t on top of things. He earned the promotion’s consideration to the purpose that it ought to be reinvested in his progress. Aleksandre, older brother of Ilia, can be a good way to draw consideration to each bantamweights.