If there’s one thing that’s become clear after UFC 315, it’s that Ilia Topuria may not get his wish to fight Islam Makhachev. As Dana White confirmed it himself, there’s a possibility that ‘El Matador’ ends up fighting Charles Oliveira if it’s made official. This has prompted fans to make predictions for the potential lightweight clash, with the majority of them leaning towards one particular fighter.
Charles Oliveira, after the former featherweight champ’s lightweight jump, expressed reluctance to fight Ilia Topuria. Much like Islam Makhachev, ‘Do Bronx’ asked the Georgian-Spaniard to prove himself against a top contender first. But now if he’s going to be paired up with ‘El Matador’, possibly for a title, then there’s no reason not to fight him. If we’re talking about it, this fight could be a pretty big one, not only for Dana White but for the fighters as well. As such, Oliveira’s tune changed over time about the Ilia Topuria fight, claiming that there’s a lot to gain from fighting Topuria.
Ilia Topuria has mentioned wanting to make his return at International Fight Week, the UFC’s flagship event of the calendar year. It’s very likely that we see the Brazilian taking on Ilia Topuria, who’s also claimed to have started fight camp for June 28 at UFC 317. Moreover, he’s made a promise to do something big. “I hope to make you all happy again on 28 June,” Topuria stated during a Spanish TV appearance.
Ilia Topuria Charles Oliveira #UFC315
Thoughts on this potential future matchup? pic.twitter.com/cPyyygTzWd
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) May 11, 2025
So, all the fingers are pointing in the direction of this fight eventually going down next month. And while fans are excited about this fight, some have made their pick clear, on who they want to win and who they want to see humbled. Let’s see what the fans had to say.
Fans want Charles Oliveira to ‘humble’ Ilia Topuria
First things first, the predictions! Fans were quick to share theirs, with one of them hoping to see Charles Oliveira fix Ilia Topuria’s attitude since his confidence has rubbed many fighters the wrong way. “Need Oliveira to humble this clown,” that fan commented in a post on X. After analyzing Topuria’s rampant rise to the top, another fan chimed in claiming ‘El Matador’ gets it done. However, that fan is convinced that the fight would end with the former featherweight champion realizing that there’s a lot of room for improvement. “Topuria gets it done. But Oliveira will clearly show he’s not rdy for LW.”
Coming back to the International Fight Week headliner, a fan commented, “I wanted Islam but this is still a great fight,” indicating that he’s not entirely happy with the way things turned out after UFC 315 but is still up for the Charles Oliveira vs Ilia Topuria matchup. On the other hand, there is a certain section of the MMA community who do not think this matchup is worthy of headlining the UFC’s flagship event of the year. “Not good enough for ifw,” that fan added.
On that note, another X user added, “I don’t wait 6 months for just 2 round, Oliveira has a glass chin, put him with arman, (topuria going to beat him anyway) i want a harder fight, but mahachev run to 170 lbs.”
So, it seems like a bunch of fans are disappointed with Islam Makhachev for choosing to go for the second belt. But then again, there’s always the option of introducing an interim title, as one fan said, “It may be for an interim title given that Islam is not vacanting his and he is fighting for the welterweight title next.” Well, not many people like the idea of an interim title. As such, there are some fans calling for the Dagestan native to be stripped so that the title could be put up for grabs in the Oliveira and Topuria matchup. “This should be for the lightweight title .. none of that interim bulls–t.”
We will get all the answers pretty soon since International Fight Week is next month. But what do you have to say about a potential Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira? Drop your comments below.
The post All Fans Hopeful Yet Scared of One Thing From Charles Oliveira as Ilia Topuria Fight All but Confirmed for UFC 317 appeared first on EssentiallySports.