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UFC 317 results, highlights: Ilia Topuria knocks out Charles Oliveira to capture lightweight gold

Tobey Lewis

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UFC 317 results, highlights: Ilia Topuria knocks out Charles Oliveira to capture lightweight gold image

Ilia Topuria’s lightweight debut couldn’t have gone better. In the biggest fight of his career, ‘El Matador’ added another legendary name to his resume, knocking out Charles Oliveira in the very first round to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title.

There was no feeling-out process, Oliveira looked to close the distance with kicks and clinch work, even threatening a leg entanglement. But Topuria stayed composed, disengaged smartly, and waited for his moment.

That moment came fast. A sharp right hand stunned Oliveira, and the devastating left hook that followed shut the lights out completely. The former featherweight king made a thunderous entrance at 155lbs, dispatching the most prolific finisher in UFC history with frightening precision.

With this win, Topuria has now beaten Volkanovski, Holloway, and Oliveira in succession - a stretch that cements his place as one of the sport’s most dangerous and complete fighters. A new era begins at lightweight, and its name is Ilia Topuria.

Alexandre Pantoja retained his flyweight crown in dominant fashion, submitting Kai Kara-France in the third round after a grappling masterclass. The Brazilian stormed out in the first, securing a takedown and backpacking the Kiwi with a tight body triangle for most of the round. Kara-France showed heart to survive a deep arm-triangle attempt late, but the tone had been set.

The second round saw a more measured Pantoja and a more active Kara-France. Still, it wasn’t enough to slow the champ, who landed another takedown and threatened with multiple submission setups while mixing in damaging low kicks. 

In the third, Pantoja again forced the fight into his world. After a chaotic exchange on the feet, he dragged the fight to the mat, secured the back, and locked in a rear-naked choke that left Kara-France no choice but to tap. It was a statement win from the reigning champion.

Joshua Van and Brandon Royval delivered an instant classic in a three-round war that had the crowd on their feet from start to finish.

The bout opened with Royval pushing the pace behind his jab and leg kicks, but Van answered with power - landing heavy rights that set the tone for the chaos to come. Both men refused to take a step back in the second, standing toe-to-toe and trading with reckless abandon.

By the third, Van began to separate himself, walking Royval down with a tight high guard and calculated combinations. He dropped the veteran late in the round, capping off a career-best performance in a fight that many will remember come awards season.

The unanimous decision win puts Van firmly in the title conversation - and he made that known with a post-fight callout aimed directly at the flyweight belt.

Beneil Dariush weathered an early storm to get back in the win column, surviving a knockdown in the first round before turning the tide against Renato Moicano. The Brazilian started hot, dropping Dariush with a clean right hand and piling on ground-and-pound.

But the veteran Dariush stayed composed, regrouping between rounds and shifting gears with relentless grappling in the second.

By the third, both fighters were running on fumes. Dariush pushed the pace, took Moicano’s back, and controlled the remainder of the round despite Moicano’s defensive efforts. It was a gritty, gutsy performance from Dariush - a reminder that the 36-year-old still has plenty left in the tank.

Kicking off the main card, Payton Talbott returned to the Octagon with something to prove - and proved it he did.

Coming off the first loss of his career, Talbott outclassed highly touted prospect Felipe Lima in a gritty three-round scrap. The 26-year-old showcased vastly improved takedown defense, stuffing 11 of 14 attempts and punishing Lima for every failed entry.

The Sporting News provided results, analysis, and highlights from UFC 317. 

UFC 317 results, highlights

Topuria knocks out Oliviera in round one

Round one: Oliviera opens with a hard low-kick and Topuria answers with a stiff jab. They exchange in the pocket and the Brazilian forced the clinch. An attempted takedown is reversed by the former featherweight champion. Oliviera enters on a leg-entanglement which forces Topuria to disengage.

Massive shot from Topuria, El Matador knocks Oliviera out cold in round one! It was a short right hand followed by a devastating left-hook.

The main event is up next: Ilia Topuria takes on Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title. After knocking out future Hall-of-Famers Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway in back-to-back fights, Topuria will now take his talents to 155lbs.

Welcoming him is the former champion Oliviera who has the most submission wins in the history of the promotion. Can the Spain-based Georgian get past another durable fan favourite in Oliveira or will the Brazilian vet 's size and guile earn him an upset victory?

After the fight, Pantoja faces off with Joshua Van who won his fight earlier in the night. This is in all-likelihood the next UFC flyweight title bout.

Alexandre Pantoja dominates against Kai Kara-France, retains flyweight belt

Round three: Pantoja initiates a messy striking exchange which resulted in a clinch and now the champion has locked in another body-triangle from the back-mount position. He sinks in the rear-naked choke and Kara-France is forced to tap. And Still!

Round two: A more composed start to the round for the champion allows Kara-France to find his range. Pantoja lands two hard low-kicks as the challenger circles to his left. Another flurry of punches and the Brazilian has landed his second takedown of the fight.

Kara-France has scrambled back to his feet and is now back to the kickboxing range. A head-kick attempt falls short from Pantoja and now the Kiwi is in on a takedown attempt of his own. Kara-France didn't land much meaningful offence in that round, but it was much more competitive than the first.

SN unofficial scorecard: 20-18 Pantoja

Round one: Pantoja walks forward recklessly swinging punches. He lands a takedown and in the scramble takes Kara-France's back. The body-triangle is locked in and it is looking like it's going to be a long opening round for the challenger.

The Kiwi escaped the body-triangle but turned into an arm-triangle submission attempt from the champion. Kara-France survives but the Brazilian is in the drivers seat heading back to the corner.

SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Pantoja

An anticipated clash between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France for the UFC flyweight title is next. Pantoja has reigned over this division for two-years. Kara-France is up for the battle and believes he's the future of the division. 

Flyweights go to war: Van gets the nod over Royval

11:50 p.m. ET: Joshua Van defeats Brandon Royval by unanimous decision and calls for title shot.

11:46 p.m. ET: Van is applying the pressure to start the third round, backing Royval up to the fence with a high-guard and intelligent shot selection. The 32-year-old isn't backing down, firing back hard strikes of his own. The crowd is on their feet. Van drops Royval late but Royval survives. Fight of the year contender right there.

11:40 p.m. ET: It's as if both men's front legs are tied to each other because they both refuse to leave the centre of the Octagon. They're trading heavy punches with little regard for defence. It's hard to tell who is getting the better of the other in this round, with both men now bleeding from the nose. What a fight!

11:34 p.m. ET: As expected, Royval started busy with the jab and low-kick. Van answered with three powerful right hands of his own. After a relatively measured opening minute, the second half of round one was very high-paced with both men landing clean. The judges will have to decide whether they prefer the volume of Royval; or power of Van.

11:16 p.m. ET: Brandon Royval and Joshua Van are up next.

Beneil Dariush recovers from being dropped early to defeat Renato Moicano

11:11 p.m. ET: Both men are out on their feet in the third round. After a few striking exchanges, Dariush has found his way to Moicano's back. The Brazilian defended the position well but looks too exhausted to capitalise with his boxing. Dariush has done enough to secure the victory.

11:05 p.m. ET: If Dariush is feeling the ill-effects of the barrage at the end of the first round, he certainly isn't showing it. He's pushed Moicano to the fence and is putting him through a spin cycle of grappling exchanges. By spending the last two-minutes of the round in top half-guard, Dariush has almost assuredly made this a 19-19 fight heading into the final round.

10:58 p.m. ET: After a patient start, both men traded heavy kicks in their open-stance matchup. Moicano drops Dariush with a long right-cross and is landing ground-and-pound from turtle. Great start from the Brazilian.

10:47 p.m. ET: The former featherweight champion 'El Matador' has arrived ahead of the main event.

10:44 p.m. ET: Lightweight veterans Beneil Dariush and Renato Moicano do battle next.

Payton Talbott returns from first career loss to beat elite prospect Felipe Lima

10:41 p.m. ET: A grateful Payton Talbott calls out bantamweight power-puncher Adrian Yañez in what would be an absolute banger if those two were to get booked.

10:37 p.m. ET: The hype train is back on track. Payton Talbott patched some of the glaring holes in his game that were exposed by Raoni Barcelos in his last bout. Lima got his man down in the third round but had limited control time - he was 3 from 14 on the night in the takedown department.

10:31 p.m. ET: The second round kicks-off almost identically to the first, with Lima landing the cleaner boxing combinations before ultimately ending up in bottom position after a failed takedown attempt. Talbott's takedown defence has improved dramatically since his last outing. Both men traded spinning attacks in an exciting end to the round.

10:25 p.m. ET: Lima lands big punches early while Talbott tries to gauge his distance. The Brazilian aggressively pursued the takedown but Talbott was having none of it, reversing and finding his way into top position. After a scramble, Lima finds the back and controls the last minute of the round.

10:12 p.m. ET: Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima opens the show. 

10 p.m. ET: The main card has started. 

9:42 p.m. ET: Viscous knockout from Rodrigues who answered any questions the fans had of him after his last outing. A massive left hook put Hermansson down and a follow up shot put him away.

9:30 p.m. ET: Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues in middleweight action action headlines the prelims. 

9:10 p.m. ET: Wicked combination by Delgado who took the fight right to Amil and ended it with a knee. 

9:00 p.m. ET: Jose Miguel Delgado vs. Hyder Amil is next

8:55 p.m. ET: Tracy Cortez picked up the victory over Viviane Araujo by unanimous decision.

8:30 p.m. ET: Tracy Cortez vs. Viviane Araujo is next.

8:15 p.m. ET: Terrance McKinney wasted no time latching up a mounted guillotine choke and forcing Viacheslav Borshchev just 55 seconds into the bout.

8:05 p.m. ET: Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev is next.

7:55 p.m. ET: Jacobe Smith defeated Niko Price by submission due to a rear-naked choke in round two.

7:40 p.m. ET: Jacobe Smith vs. Niko Price is next.

7:35 p.m. ET: Diniz defeated Hines by unanimous decision.

7:15 p.m. ET: The first fight of the early prelims was Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines.

Hello everyone, and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of UFC 317! 

UFC 317 fight card

Main Card

  • Ilia Topuria def. Charles Oliveira via knockout for the UFC lightweight title (2:27 into round one)
  • Alexandre Pantoja (c) def. Kai Kara-France via submission for the UFC flyweight title (1:55 into round three)
  • Joshua Van def. Brandon Royval via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Beneil Dariush def. Renato Moicano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Payton Talbott def. Felipe Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Prelims

  • Gregory Rodrigues def. Jack Hermansson via TKO (4:21 into round one)
  • Jose Miguel Delgado def. Hyder Amil via TKO (0:26 into round one)
  • Tracy Cortez def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Terrance McKinney def. Viacheslav Borshchev via mounted guillotine choke (0:55 into round one)

Early Prelims

  • Jacobe Smith def. Niko Price via rear-naked choke (4:03 into round two)
  • Jhonata Diniz def. Alvin Hines via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Tobey Lewis

Tobey Lewis is a content producer for Sporting News Australia, specialising in rugby league and combat. He combines a passion for sport with a commitment to telling the stories behind the action.