Which should be the first light challenger of Ilia Topuria after the UFC 317

The UFC 317 was an event full of fighters making major statements. However, most of these proclamations came via their actions inside the octagon on Saturday evening.

The biggest declaration of the evening may have been in the main event, when the former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria continued her Bulldozer series through some of the most notable fighters in sport by having the former light weight champion Charles Oliveira via the Knockout in the first round to demand the light belt. Before this victory, Topuria won the victories with a direct elimination on Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.

Earlier at night, the male fly weight division took the front of the stage while Alexander Pantoja and Joshua Van won impressive victories over Kai Kara-France and Brandon Royval, respectively. Will their victories be organized the next fight in the 125 pound division?

After one of the most exciting UFC remuneration events of the year, how should the future matchmaking take place? This is what should be the next for the best fighters in the UFC 317.

Ilia Topuria, light

play

Topuria Eyes “huge fight” against Pimbelett after the shock of Oliveira

Ilia Topuria reveals her future combat plans if he defeats Charles Oliveira for the light weight of the vacant UFC.

Which should be the next one: Paddy Pimbett winner against Justin Gaethje

The obvious answer is Pimbett, except that last week, Topuria told me that he thought that Pimbett should get one more victory before fighting for a title. He said it was “fair” to make Pimbett, a light weight n ° 5 of ESPN, fight once again. It was a real statement when he said it, and it’s always true now.

Gaethje says that the UFC owes him a fight for the title, and in a way, he is right. This comes back to him by putting a light hit on the line to help the company and fight Holloway at the UFC 300. The simple fact, however, is that he does not bathe against Topuria without taking one more. It is classified higher than Pimbett, but Pimbett has all the momentum of fans. I believe that the UFC should “do things properly” with Gaethje by reserving Pimbett’s fight, if he wants. If he does not want it, go with Topuria against Pimbett. But if Gaethje is ready to accept it and say to yourself: “OK, I deserve a title shot, but sometimes you don’t always get what you deserve in this sport and I don’t want to retire”, then this fight makes sense.

Wild Card: Dustin Poirier

The joker’s joker. I doubt that it happens, but if Poirier was to eliminate Holloway next month in what is supposed to be his retired fight in New Orleans, who means that Topuria does not ask Poirier? Poirier is the kind of legend that does not come every day, and Topuria might want to add this to her curriculum vitae. Even if all of this should happen, Poirier could retire anyway.

Charles Oliveira, light

Which should be the next one: Max Holloway

It is one of those matches that has always been there – an obvious option if and when Holloway went to 155 pounds. Whether he wins or lost to UFC 318 next month, fans and experts will likely start talking about Holloway against Oliveira. As long as Topuria is the light champion, Holloway and Oliveira – who both eliminated Topuria – are roughly outside the image of the title, but the match would be a banger. Holloway and Oliveira fought once at featherweight in 2015, and the fight was cut extremely short when Oliveira suffered a neck injury.

Wild Card: Retirement

Despite the closure of nearly 50 professional fights, Oliveira seems to be retired anywhere. He has always maintained a healthy motivation for the game. And although he has apparently been there forever, he is only 35 years old. That said, because he has been at the top of sport for so long, there are not many fights that have a lot of sense. He is one of those beloved characters that you don’t want to see just fight to fight. The UFC can always find fights for Oliveira and Will – I really don’t expect him to retire after this loss – but it is worth throwing this option as a joker because Oliveira has nothing to prove.

Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua van, fly weight

What should be the next one: Pantoja against Van for the fly weight championship

Van is really out of nowhere. But this is the fight to make. Brandon Moreno has done more than Van in his career, of course, and he looked good since he took a brief sports hiatus in 2024, but MMA likes to go with his hot hand, and Van is on fire right now.

Congratulations to the UFC for recognizing this and acting quickly on it. Pantoja wants to represent the division in the most entertaining way possible, and Van is all the entertainment at the moment. Is it ready for Pantoja? The reasonable answer is probably no. Everything happened so quickly for the 23 -year -old, and Pantoja is legitimately a big one of all time. No lack of respect for any match that preceded it, but it was the most intriguing fly weight title fight in recent memory.

Kai Kara-France, fly weight of men

Which should be the next one: Manel Kape

It’s a bit of a crush on Kara-France. All the losses are – in particular title fights – but Kara -France was so emotionally and mentally invested in this title opportunity, and Pantoja did not allow him to start. This loss will sting, but if you want to give Kara-France a match that will instantly make fire, it’s Kape.

These two have been watching themselves for years. There have been different notes to rivalry, but it comes down to a simple personal aversion for each other. They had to fight in 2023 in Australia, but Kara-France underwent a concussion and was forced to withdraw. This is the most obvious fight to reserve throughout the fly weight division at the moment.

Wild Card: Kai Asakura

Asakura should face Tim Elliott at UFC 319 in August. If Asakura wins, it will be classified in the top 10, and this match will start to jump from the page. There are similarities between these two – namely their high Ko potential. Whether this match ends up being next or takes place on the road, you can bet that we will possibly see Kara-France against Asakura in a main UFC combat night event or on a main à la carte card.

Payton Talbott, male rooster weight

Which should be the next one: Adrian Yanez

This fight has shown how capricious MMA can be. Talbott was presented as the next great thing at Bantamweight, but because of poor performance against the veteran Raoni Barcelos during his last fight Talbott entered it with a small media threshing. Felipe Lima was an important favorite in bets, and a story had started to form that Talbott could not fight. It was a big rebound victory that put Talbott back on where he was before the defeat of Barcelos. I tend to want to give him the match he wants, who is YANEZ, which he mentioned in his post-combat interview. Yanez once had a lot of media threshing but fought with incoherent performance. Talbott’s loot is back, and you might think that Ynez would be delighted to face a budding perspective that called it.

Wild Card: Aleksandre Topuria

The UFC should want your eyes on Talbott. Lima was a large test six months after a fight in which Talbott grappling was not aware. He drew the attention of promotion to the point that it should be reinvested in his progress. Aleksandre, an elder brother of Ilia, would be a great way to draw attention to the two rooster weights.