Ilia Topuria will look to add a second Ultimate Fighting Championship belt to his collection when he headlines UFC 317 on June 28 – it just won’t be against Islam Makhachev.
After weeks of heightened anticipation for a potential blockbuster face-off between the superstar pair, Topuria, a former undisputed featherweight champ, will now fight former champion Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Tuesday.
Makhachev, a four-time defending champion, will vacate the lightweight belt to move up to welterweight to face newly crowned Jack Della Maddalena, who defeated Belal Muhammad last Saturday at UFC 315 to become the new title holder in the weight class. The date for that fight has yet to be announced.
Topuria has a perfect UFC record of 16-0. The Spaniard relinquished his 145-pound (66kg) featherweight title earlier this year in anticipation of a lightweight title showdown against Makhachev and took to social media to voice his displeasure at the Russian vacating his title belt.
“On June 29, another dream will come true,” Topuria wrote. “I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles [Oliveira], my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away.”
Makhachev, who sports a 27-1 UFC record, is ranked by ESPN as the best pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world; Topuria is ranked number two.
UFC 317 is scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Aljazeera.com
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