The summer showcase that is UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas is upon us as a pair of title bouts headline a UFC 317 pay-per-view card from T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
In the main event, Ilia Topuria, who recently vacated the featherweight title, will challenge former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title. Alexandre Pantoja will also look for the fourth defense of his flyweight title when he faces Kai Kara-France in the co-feature.
As we close in on fight night, let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines entering this weekend.
Why Jon Jones, Dana White and UFC deserve equal blame for the failed Tom Aspinall fight and ensuing retirement
Brian Campbell
1. Ilia Topuria just might be the hero that UFC desperately needs
If you believe in 2025 that UFC has a bit of a star deficit at the top end of the promotion then Conor McGregor’s continued absence, Jon Jones’ recent retirement and Dustin Poirier being set to enter the final fight of his career in July certainly isn’t helping matters. Topuria, who vacated his featherweight title in February, has already laid claim to the title of UFC’s next breakout star following 2024 knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway that led to the Georgian slugger (who was born in Germany and resides in Spain) being named fighter of the year. On Saturday, Topuria has an opportunity to propel himself even further into the mainstream beyond hardcore MMA fans when he takes on Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title. The UFC likely could’ve had itself a true superfight between the top two pound-for-pound best fighters on the planet on this card had it not been for Islam Makhachev’s decision to also vacate his title and move up to welterweight. But Topuria has kept the spicy banter between them going since then and has already teased his plans of calling out Makhachev should he be victorious at UFC 317. This is the kind of rivalry between a pair of stars directly in the midst of their respective primes that the promotion could badly use.
2. Don’t you even dare count out Charles Oliveira
The 35-year-old native of Brazil has a resume that speaks for itself. The former 155-pound king has recorded the most finishes and submissions in UFC history and owns victories over the likes of Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler (twice), Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Beneil Dariush. Yes, Oliveira has alternated wins and losses over his last four bouts, including a one-sided submission loss to Makhachev for the title in 2022. But the betting odds for this fight are a bit deceiving considering Topuria, a 4-to-1 favorite, has fought just once at this weight class in his 16 pro fights and Oliveira is a threat to finish the fight at any time whether he’s standing or on his back. “Do Bronx” also fares as well as any other UFC fighter when it comes to navigating through chaos. Oliveira, who called the Makhachev loss an aberration and the worst night of his career, has remained at a high level since that loss, with wins over Dariush (by stoppage) and Chandler. The only other blemish came in a split-decision defeat to Arman Tsarukyan, despite the fact that Oliveira twice threatened to end the fight with deep chokes, including a dangerous D’Arce attempt in the closing seconds. Oliveira is savvy, battle tested and dangerous. A breakthrough win by Topuria is anything but a foregone conclusion.
3. Can Alexandre Pantoja continue to clean out the flyweight division?
At 35, and peaking at a time when most flyweights begin to aggressively fizzle out, Pantoja continues to be one of the most sure things that UFC has at the title level. In fact, Pantoja is currently the longest-reigning male champion in the promotion and is riding a seven-fight win streak dating back to 2020. And even though he captured his title two years ago at an unlikely point in his career by surviving a blood-and-guts war over five rounds with Brandon Moreno, Pantoja’s three title defenses have come with far less resistance. Earlier this year, Pantoja owned a 9-0 career mark against the fighters populating the top 10 at 125 pounds. It’s likely because of that, he will welcome a title challenger on Saturday in Kai Kara-France who has lost two of his last three fights. Pantoja may never catch Demetrious Jonson and his UFC record of 11 title defenses but, as rumors continue to swirl as to whether he will eventually move up to challenge bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili, Pantoja continues to author one of the best flyweight title reigns since UFC first launched the division in 2012.
4. Flyweight Joshua Van is going all in
After twice attempting to book a No. 1 contender bout at 125 pounds between former title challenger Brandon Royval and red-hot Manel Kape only to see injuries to both prevent the fight from taking place, UFC came up with a fresh idea. Kape, sidelined with a broken foot, was unavailable for Saturday. So, the promotion called up Van, the 23-year-old Burmese striker, to see if he could make the three-week turnaround from his most recent win to take on the No. 1-ranked Royval. Given that his nickname is “The Fearless,” it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Van, who is ranked No. 11, jumped at the opportunity. Van, a slick and explosive boxer, is 14-2 as a pro. But ever since his third-round knockout loss to Charles Johnson in July 2024, his lone UFC defeat, the bright prospect has started to look a lot more like a future contender, running off four consecutive wins over the last month alone. For Van, the future is now considering a win over Royval could catapult him directly into a title shot. Is he ready? That’s part of the intrigue as Van, who is riding a ton of momentum, enters against the durable Royval as just a slight betting favorite. Van has only been in the UFC for just shy of two years but he has already fought 8 times and owns a 7-1 record overall. It took happenstance and a largely cleaned out division for him to get there but Van could be the new breed that flyweight has been waiting for.
5. Peyton Talbott gets a second chance to make a big impression
As far as prospects are concerned, 26-year-old Payton Talbott looked like the next big thing at bantamweight through nine pro fights, which included nine wins and a 3-0 start (all by stoppage) to his UFC run. The wheels of his hype train would dramatically fall apart, however, at UFC 311 in January when he was taken into deep waters by rugged veteran Raoni Barcelos and nearly gassed out en route to a decision loss. Five months later, Talbott will get back on the horse but it won’t be easy. The native of Las Vegas enters as a slight underdog when he faces a 14-1 Felipe Lima of Brazil who won both of his UFC bouts after debuting in the Octagon in 2024. This showdown between 135-pound fighters with bright futures could be a key turning point in Talbott’s rise, particularly if he can fix the areas that went wrong when he self-imploded against Barcelos.
