UFC 317 takes place Saturday night in Las Vegas and features a vacant lightweight championship bout between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira, plus a men’s flyweight title matchup between champ Alexandre Pantoja and challenger Kai Kara-France in the co-main event.
Topuria and Oliveira are competing for the belt Islam Makhachev vacated so he can pursue the welterweight title currently held by Jack Della Maddalena.
The former undisputed featherweight champion, Topuria (16-0), decided to leave the 145-pound division and vacate his title to permanently move to the 155-pound division, citing the difficult weight cut as the primary reason for the move.
Oliveira is a former lightweight champion who initially lost his title when he was stripped of the belt after missing weight by half a pound ahead of a scheduled title defence against Justin Gaethje in 2022.
Before the four championship fighters, and the other 20 athletes scheduled to compete on the card, step into the Octagon at T-Mobile Arena, they will need to successfully make weight on the eve of the event.
To help get you set for all the action, Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter and Anna Dua will be broadcasting live throughout the official weigh-in window on Friday. Bronsteter and Dua will be on site at the UFC Apex, reporting on the weights for all UFC 317 competitors and will interview some of the participating fighters after they’ve weighed in.
This special event can be streamed on Sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet+ and Sportsnet's YouTube channel starting at approximately 11:55 a.m. ET / 8:55 a.m. PT.
There will be a one-pound allowance for all non-title bouts, but the four championship competitors won’t have that luxury. Topuria and Oliveira must weigh no heavier than 155 pounds for their lightweight title fight to be made official. Pantoja and Kara-France must weigh no heavier than 125 pounds.
No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan will also be present at the official weigh-in and is set to step on the scale as the official main event backup fighter in case either Topuria or Oliveira are unable to make weight or compete altogether.
Tsarukyan missed out on a title opportunity in January when he withdrew from his scheduled fight with Islam Makhachev the morning of the official weigh-in.
In addition to the two title bouts, flyweight contenders Brandon Royval and Joshua Van will fight to see who could potentially face the winner of Pantoja vs. Kara-France, veteran lightweights Beneil Dariush and Renato Moicano meet on the main card, and standout bantamweights Payton Talbott and Felipe Lima will kick off the pay-per-view action.
Watch UFC 317 on Sportsnet+
Ilia Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title and Alexandre Pantoja defends his flyweight title against Kai Kara-France. Watch UFC 317 on Saturday, June 28 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
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Projected bout order for UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira is below.
MAIN CARD
— Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira (five rounds for vacant lightweight title)
— Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France (five rounds for men's flyweight title)
— Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van
— Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
— Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues
— Hyder Amil vs. Jose Delgado
— Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez
— Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
— Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines
— Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith
— Christopher Ewert vs. Jackson McVey
