![Ilia Topuria became the UFC lightweight champion. [Images courtesy: @ufc on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/06/766a6-17511741426479-1920.jpg)
![Ilia Topuria became the UFC lightweight champion. [Images courtesy: @ufc on Instagram]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
MMA pros were impressed with Ilia Topuria after he made quick work of former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.
In the vacant lightweight title fight that headlined the UFC 317 pay-per-view event, Topuria deftly handled Oliveira's early offensive bursts and successfully countered the Brazilian's leg lock attempts. He ultimately knocked Oliveira out with a vicious right hook-left hook combination at the 2:27 mark of Round 1.
With the victory, Topuria was crowned the lightweight king and became the 10th two-division UFC champion in history.
Check out the finishing sequence below:
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Fellow MMA fighters praised the Georgian-Spanish fighter's impressive win over an all-time great fighter in Oliveira, taking to social media to share their thoughts on Topuria's accomplishments.
Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo took to X and wrote:
"Ilia Topuria is the UFC’s biggest superstar in the world right now."
Former welterweight title challenger and multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Gilbert Burns wrote on X:
"Wow Topuria is different"
Check out more reactions below:
With his win over Oliveira, Topuria has now defeated three current and former champions, all by knockout, in his most recent bouts. Heading into UFC 317, 'El Matador' was coming off consecutive knockout wins over two-time featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former title holder Max Holloway.
His latest win also answered several questions about his ability to successfully compete against bigger athletes in the lightweight division, as Topuria has primarily competed at featherweight so far in his professional MMA career.
No.1-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan was seen as the frontrunner for the next title challenge against Topuria. However, the newly crowned champion expressed an interest in facing Paddy Pimblett during the post-fight formalities.
Topuria and Pimblett, both popular figures in the lower weight classes, have been engaged in a heated rivalry for several years.
During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast earlier this year, Topuria expressed the desire to face Pimblett in Spain.
