Two UFC stars will go toe-to-toe in the octagon this Saturday, June 28, with a title on the line: Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira square off in the UFC 317 headliner, with the vacant lightweight championship up for grabs.
Topuria, unstoppable at featherweight (he left the division as champion with an 8-0 UFC record and five knockout victories), is looking to join a select group of fighters who are champions in two different divisions, taking advantage of a path left open by Islam Makhachev's pursuit of the same at welterweight.
Oliveira, who was lightweight champion between 2021 and 2022 until losing his title for failing to make the division weight before a defence, will try to regain what was once his before Makhachev's nearly three-year reign.
Who will come out on top? The Sporting News' UFC expert Agustin Aboy presents betting odds, predictions and picks to bet along with the action at UFC 317.
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UFC 317: Latest odds for Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira
According to Dafabet, the favourite to win the lightweight title at UFC 317 is Ilia Topuria. His win in Las Vegas this Saturday pays at 1.21, while Charles Oliveira's win is 4.45.
Bolded below are the names of the favourites to win the UFC 317 main card fights. All odds are correct at time of publish via Dafabet.
- Ilia Topuria (1.21) vs. Charles Oliveira (4.45); for the UFC lightweight title
- Alexandre Pantoja (1.41) vs. Kai Kara-France (2.90); for the UFC flyweight title
- Brandon Royval (1.96) vs. Joshua Van (1.84); flyweight
- Beneil Dariush (1.96) vs. Renato Moicano (1.84); light heavyweight
- Payton Talbott (2.48) vs. Felipe Lima (1.54); bantamweight
UFC 317: Betting tips, predictions
Here's who our expert writers are backing for UFC 317. Odds are correct at time of publish.
TSN's predicted double:
- Ilia Topuria to beat Charles Oliveira (1.21)
- Alexandre Pantoja to beat Kai Kara-France (1.41)
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Agustin Aboy says:
"A former champion of Oliveira's experience, with nearly 50 pro fights, 35 wins (23 in UFC, only Jim Miller has more in the company's history) and several five-round fights at lightweight cannot be dismissed, but there are several arguments why Topuria is a clear favourite to win this Saturday.
The European is seven years younger and has far less damage on him than the Brazilian, with his perfect 16-0 record and only one fight that went beyond three rounds. At the same time, when Topuria had to fight for 25 minutes against John Emmett he also did well, patiently and without leaving any doubt in his victory, never despairing of a finish.
Oliveira's forte is his jiu-jitsu and he will try to take the fight to the ground, like Topuria's previous opponents, but Ilia has already shown he has good takedown defence while his stand-up boxing can make the difference against the Brazilian, who has been knocked out a couple of times in his career."
Agustin also gave his take on Pantoja vs. Kara-France:
"The advantage in this one is on the champion's side. Pantoja is the more complete fighter, having already beaten the likes of Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval, who both beat Kara-France.
Kara-France lost his only 5-round fight (to Amir Albazi in 2023), has only one win in the last 3 years and has no wins against opponents of a similar caliber to the current flyweight champion. There's only one winner here!"
Agustin Aboy's UFC prediction record since January 2024: 23 successes out of 33 predictions (69.7%)