Ilia Topuria had promised a first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira in their UFC 317 lightweight title bout—and even so, it was stunning to see it actually happen.
Topuria (17-0) became the 10th two-weight champion in UFC history Saturday as he knocked out Oliveira at 2:27 of the first round, News.Az reports citing the ESPN.
Topuria connected with a short right to Oliveira's chin and followed with a left hook. The second shot was just icing on the cake, as Oliveira was already on his way down from the initial punch.
Of all the two-weight champions in UFC history, Topuria is the first to claim multiple belts while also maintaining an undefeated record.
"I already said it," said Topuria, who even held a preemptive celebratory dinner Friday in anticipation of the victory. "I represent the new era of mixed martial arts. This is the next level of the game."
Immediately after Topuria's win, the UFC wasted no time bringing Paddy Pimblett into the conversation. Pimblett, the No. 8-ranked lightweight from Liverpool, England, was cageside at T-Mobile Arena. Pimblett and Topuria have history going back to 2021, when Topuria took offense to comments Pimblett made about the Russo-Georgian War of 2008. Topuria, of Spain, is of Georgian descent.
Pimblett even entered the cage to square off with Topuria. Earlier this week, Topuria told ESPN he wanted to fight Pimblett in his first title defense, preferably in Las Vegas.
"If he thinks he's ready, come on. You blond b----," Topuria said.
Even the promotional aftermath wasn't enough to overshadow Topuria's spectacular performance. He fought off multiple attempts by Oliveira to clinch and take him down. When Oliveira succeeded in half-tripping him to the floor, Topuria reversed position in a scramble and ended up on top of the submission specialist.
