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Saturday, June 28, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.
The boos were so loud during the open-to-the-public UFC 317 news conference Thursday evening at T-Mobile Arena that Ilia Topuria, who’s fluent in English, had to get clarification on questions directed toward him from his Spanish translator.
Other than that minor delay, the 28-year-old fighting out of Alicante, Spain, didn’t come across as the least bit bothered by the hostility he garnered going into his lightweight championship fight against fan favorite Charles Oliveira.
Topuria greeted the jeers with grins.
“I’m used to it, to be honest,” he said. “The only thing I wish is you guys enjoy the fight Saturday night. That’s all.”
Topuria exuded confidence in his designer suit as he smirked while Oliveira spoke and occasionally stroked his beard to flash the latest in a collection of luxury watches he’s worn at media events throughout his career.
The whole scene made him look and feel the part of a mixed martial arts superstar, even if his detractors may argue he’s not quite there yet.
This year’s International Fight Week, which is headlined by Topuria versus Oliveira on pay-per-view tonight at T-Mobile, doesn’t have the buzz of some of the biggest past editions.
The UFC whiffed on booking the two biggest available fights in the sport. After months of avoiding lethal interim champion Tom Aspinall, heavyweight belt-holder Jon Jones abruptly retired this week and found himself in yet another legal controversy.
Even the preferred matchup for Topuria, who vacated the featherweight (145 pounds) title to move up a class, fell through when top pound-for-pound ranked fighter Islam Makhachev similarly bailed on the lightweight division (155 pounds) to go to welterweight (170 pounds).
The card has largely therefore fallen on the shoulders of Topuria’s bid at history from a promotional standpoint. He’s looking to become the 10th fighter ever to win a belt at a second weight class.
So far, Topuria doesn’t seem out of place with past global UFC icons who have served as the primary International Fight Week draws like Jones, Conor McGregor and Anderson Silva.
His lights-out punching power and explosive style endear him to almost as many fans as his smug reputation and dismissive attitude toward opponents alienates him to others.
“There’s lots of guys that are stars depending on where we go and what we do,” UFC President Dana White said. “He is definitely one of them. If he goes in and does what he says he’s going to do Saturday night, he’s absolutely one of the biggest stars in combat sports.”
Topuria says he’s going to knock Oliveira out in the first round, of course, and it’s hard to argue against at least that method of victory being the likeliest outcome.
The German-born fighter with Georgian roots has never lost in any of his 16 MMA bouts, and he has only let two of them reach the scorecards.
He goes into the Oliveira fight riding one of the most impressive back-to-back knockout streaks in UFC history, having finished future Hall of Famers and former champions Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway via strikes in an eight-month span last year.
Topuria enters an even bigger favorite against the 35-year-old Oliveira despite the former lightweight champion holding the UFC record with 20 stoppage victories. The betting odds list the former as a little more than a -400 (i.e. risking $400 to win $100) favorite with Oliveira coming back around +350 (i.e. risking $100 to win $350).
“I was forged in the fire,” Oliveira said through a translator. “I’m ready for this.”
Oliveira made that vow in the news conference as a response to what he perceived as getting boos from the fans, but he might have been mistaking the negativity meant for Topuria.
The crowd was far more partial to Oliveira as Brazilian flags waved in the air.
Topuria himself admits Oliveira has long secured legendary status in the UFC through a career that’s lasted 15 years.
Oliveira made his UFC debut in 2010 — five years before Topuria debuted as a professional fighter. His status in the sport is cemented but he never crossed over much on a mainstream level, perhaps largely because of the lengths he went to show respect and not build rivalries with opponents.
Topuria won’t bother with trying to be inoffensive and doesn’t show much deference to the generations of fighters that came before him.
“He wants to win,” Topuria said of Oliveira. “I would say that’s very wishful thinking.”
America is the one place Topuria needs to crossover as far as his public profile. He’s already a major star in Europe, especially in Spain where he’s become close friends with fellow big-name athletes like world No. 1 tennis player Carlos Alcaraz and collaborated on television with Antonio Banderas.
Topuria celebrated winning his first title last year with a ceremony at midfield before a Real Madrid game at the famed Santiago Bernabéu Stadium where the sold-out crowd let out deafening roars as he showed off the belt.
There’s been much talk about the UFC staging its first-ever outdoor stadium card in the 83,000-seat venue with Topuria headlining in the future.
White already believes an event like that would be successful, but Topuria is hesitant to agree to it with the UFC not wanting to move out of its traditional 7 p.m. Pacific pay-per-view time slot to cater to the American audience. That would mean the card would start at 4 a.m. in Spain with the main event not until around 6:30 in the morning.
The UFC’s most notable fights have traditionally taken place in Las Vegas though, and it’s a stage Topuria needs to prove he can conquer. Although he’s fought twice at T-Mobile earlier in his career, UFC 317 will be his first appearance in a main-event slot.
The fight might not be the blockbuster of its International Fight Week predecessors on paper, but it could be looked back upon as a milestone moment where the UFC’s next phenomenon transcended to a new level.
“I’m the best fighter in the world and it’s not if I’m going to win the belt,” Topuria said. “I’m going to do it.”
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