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Oliveira and Topuria will trade leather for the vacant lightweight title in the main event at UFC 317 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Known for his brash confidence, Topuria is making big claims going into UFC 317. Topuria initially wanted to fight Islam Makhachev and said he felt bad for Oliveira when the Dagestani moved up to welterweight. “El Matador” then promised fans to finish Oliveira any way they want. Topuria initially predicted a first-round finish over “do Bronxs,” which has now come down to the first two to three minutes of the fight.
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While Topuria has rarely failed to back up his bold claims with action, Oliveira is undeterred. The former lightweight champ claims he had similar confidence when he was undefeated. However, that was until Oliveira met someone like his current version, who refused to back down. The Brazilian considers himself the “problem” at 155 pounds and promises to walk forward against Topuria on Saturday.
Oliveira: ‘I’m the Problem in This Division’
“I had that confidence once when I didn’t have a loss,” Oliveira told ESPN. “But then you face somebody that’s not gonna walk backwards. I’m gonna push forward and I’m gonna walk forward. I’m the problem in this division. I am a lion, and I’m not gonna back down. You gonna see this on Saturday… I’m gonna go forward.”
Oliveira is 2-2 in his last four, which includes his title loss against Makhachev. Oliveira rebounded with a knockout over Beneil Dariush before dropping a split decision against Arman Tsarukyan. Most recently, he defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 309. Meanwhile, Topuria has eight UFC wins with six finishes, including his featherweight title win over Alexander Volkanovski and a lone defense against Max Holloway.
Charles Oliveira says he will ‘walk forward’ against Ilia Topuria 👀🔥
“I’m gonna push forward, I’m gonna walk forward. I’m the problem in this division. I am a lion, and I’m not gonna back down.”
🎥 @espnmma #UFC317pic.twitter.com/TrEnHjIoM3
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 24, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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