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Ilia Topuria sends chilling message to Charles Oliveira before UFC 317 title fight

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated May 14, 2025 1:46 PM ET

Ilia Topuria has nothing but gold on his mind now that a showdown with Charles Oliveira has officially been confirmed for UFC 317.

The former UFC featherweight champion surprised fans earlier this year when he elected to vacate his 145 lbs. belt in order to move up to lightweight, a division ruled by Islam Makhachev since 2022.

Makhachev decided to follow Topuria’s example and vacate his title in the aftermath of UFC 315 to move up and fight for the welterweight belt, and now “La Leyenda” will try to become a two-division champion on June 28 when he meets former lightweight titleholder Oliveira.

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Topuria Sends "Apologies" To Oliveira

Following Dana White’s announcement regarding Makhachev and UFC 317's lightweight title fight, Topuria took to social media to send a message to Oliveira and also take a shot at now-former lightweight king Makhachev.

On June 28, another dream will come true. I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 pic.twitter.com/YSutHz4U2h
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) May 13, 2025

“On June 28, another dream will come true. I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0”

Makhachev Matchup Tabled For The Near Future

A matchup between Topuria and Makhachev was arguably the biggest fight that the UFC could put together in 2025, with some fans citing it as being more interesting (and likely to happen) than a heavyweight title unification bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.

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Topuria is coming off two knockout-wins over all-time featherweight greats Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski and boasts an undefeated record in MMA, while Makhachev is unbeaten dating back to 2016 and successfully defended his lightweight belt four times before vacating the title.

The former featherweight king will still have the chance to add another massive name to his résumé at UFC 317, as Oliveira previously held the lightweight title himself and is looking to reclaim the belt following a unanimous decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 309.

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This article first appeared on MMA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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