UFC 317 start time, full fight card details | Topuria vs. Oliveira

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is gearing up to cap off its annual International Fight Week event later TONIGHT (Sat., June 28, 2025) as UFC 317 goes down inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be Ilia Topuria facing off against Charles Oliveira for Islam Makhachev’s vacated Lightweight title. In the co-main event, current Flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja, will defend against Kai Kara-France.

What’s Hot:

It’s a weird time for UFC. A billion-dollar broadcast deal has yet to be locked down, Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall isn’t happening ever and the promotion’s largest superstar, Conor McGregor, has long been forgotten about. As far as fighters who are actively competing, a couple of champions made moves that truly have some baffled. And among them is Topuria, who vacated his Featherweight title after just one defense over Max Holloway to chase a Lightweight tile fight against the aforementioned Makhachev. Shortly after that move, Makhachev vacated his 155-pound strap to chase a fight against current Welterweight champion, Jack Della Maddalena. That said, Makhachev had more of a reason to vacate and chase another division since he did defend four straight times, but Topuria doing after just one defense was puzzling. It wouldn’t have been if a bout against Makhachev was guaranteed, but that was not the case. Now, “El Matador” is stuck fighting for the vacant belt against Oliveira. While a formidable foe, it’s not the same as a fight against the pound-for-pound great. Plus, the way Topuria was performing, he had the potential to go on a generational run that surpasses that of Holloway’s and Alexander Volkanovski’s. Instead, he got ahead of himself and now puts himself in a bind if he loses to “Do Bronx.”

Oliveira, meanwhile, bounced back from his split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan by defeating Michael Chandler rather handily for a second time at UFC 309. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the stacked weight class. And if we’re being honest, he likely only got the fight because Dana White is still pissed as Tsarukyan — the rightful No. 1 contender — bowed out of his fight against Makhachev due to an injury.

Dana’s going to Dana.

Nevertheless, Oliveira has a golden opportunity here to re-capture gold and spoil Topuria’s quest to become a two-division champion, while also handing him his first-ever professional mixed martial arts (MMA) defeat. Naturally, “Do Bronx” will want to take it to the ground where he is an absolute wizard, but getting it there will be half the battle because Topuria is perhaps the best pure striker in UFC.

We know Oliveira is susceptible to getting dropped, and if Topuria connects cleanly, he will be taking a trip to the canvas he likely won’t be able to get up from.

What’s Not:

Jacobe Smith burst onto UFC’s scene out of the Contender Series, scoring a first round knockout win over Preston Parsons earlier this year (see it here), upping his undefeated record (10-0). So, why UFC matchmakers opted to book him against a struggling fighter like Niko Price is puzzling to say the leasr. It’s almost a lose-lose situation for Smith, because if he beats Price he will just add to the woes of a fighter going downhill. If he loses, which is a possibility, his undefeated record goes out the window against a man who seems to have his best days behind him, halting his momentum inside the Octagon before it has much of a chance to pick up.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card

Paulo Costa was supposed to face Roman Kopylov at this event before the fight was moved to UFC 318 next month for undisclosed reasons. Also, straight from the files of “something you don’t see everyday,” Sedriques Dumas was forced out of his fight against Jackson McVey due to his legal troubles that forbid him to get his ankle monitor removed by a judge. Yes, seriously. Then, his replacement, Christopher Ewert, couldn’t cut the weight on time to make to fight night, coming in 10 pounds heavy, forcing UFC to axe the fight … and cut Ewert altogether.

Injuries:

Manel Kape was in line to face off against Brandon Royval before he suffered a leg fracture and was forced out. Stepping in to take his place is Joshua Van, who is fresh off a knockout win over Bruno Silva at UFC 316 earlier this month (more on that here). Royval is currently on a two-fight win streak, and he is still holding on to the No. 1 spot on the rankings. That’s why if Van — who is ranked No. 10 — can get the victory it would be huge for his career.

New Blood:

Undefeated (7-0, 0-0 UFC) Heavyweight, Alvin Hines, will get his chance to shine on the biggest MMA stage of them all when he battles Jhonata Diniz in what is a sure-fire, hard-hitting slugfest. Hines is a well-rounded fighter with three knockouts, three submissions and one unanimous decision win. The big man can hurt you equally on the ground as he can on the feet, a rarity for a man his size. As for Diniz, he will look to bounce back after suffering the first and only loss of his career after losing to Marcin Tybura via second round technical knockout via doctor’s stoppage late last year.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues will tango in an intriguing Middleweight affair. Hermansson is coming off a big win over Joe Pyfer; however, it was more than 16 months ago. “Joker” has alternated wins and losses for the last six years, which simply won’t get it done if he ever wants to get back into the Top 15. As for Rodrigues, he is coming off a technical knockout loss at the hands of Jared Cannonier, which snapped his three-fight win streak.

Hyder Amil will look to keep his mint record (11-0, 3-0 UFC) intact when he battles Jose Delgado in a Featherweight affair. Amil has been nothing short of spectacular during his short time with UFC. As for Delgado, he is also off to a good start by winning his promotional debut with a win over Connor Matthews via first round knockout earlier this year (see that here).

Tracy Cortez (No. 10) will look to bounce back after getting dominated by Rose Namajunas one year ago, snapping her 11-fight win streak. The loss ended her run toward a title fight, and she will find that it will be even harder to get back into the mix. Especially when she has someone like Viviane Araujo standing in her way. Araujo (No. 8) is coming off a win over Karine Silva at UFC 309, bringing her to 2-3 in her last five.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

In Lightweight action, Terrance McKinney will face Viacheslav Borshchev. McKinney got back on track by knocking out Damir Hadzovic in the first round earlier this year. As for Borshchev, he is sort of in a must-win situation here because he is 1-2 so far inside the Octagon and is coming off a loss at the hands Tom Nolan. If he loses his second straight and drops to a UFC record of 1-3, it could be the end of the road for him inside the Octagon.

Interest Level: 8.5/10

Pantoja is perhaps the most under-appreciated champion on UFC’s roster, as has long been the case for some holding the Flyweight title. He has three wins over Brandon Moreno, two over Brandon Royval and one more recently over Kai Asukara. Currently riding a seven-fight win streak, Pantoja will now defend his belt against Kai Kara-France, who is ranked No. 4 in the division. He snapped his two-fight skid by defeating former title contender Steve Erceg, which was good enough to get him a title shot. But Pantoja is firing on all cylinders and France will have to be pretty much perfect if he wants to pull off the upset. But judging by both men’s recent body of work, that is highly-unlikely to happen.

Renato Moicano will face Beneil Dariush on this card. They were going to initially fight at UFC 311 before “Money” was given a great opportunity to fight for the Lightweight title against Islam Makhachev at the same event (which he lost). Dariush is currently trying to snap out of his two-fight skid, and if he can do it against Moicano it would be a great motivational booster for him. Moicano, meanwhile, wants to get back on track after getting dominated by Makhachev in order to work his way back toward a tile shot…one in which he will have more time to prepare for.

Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima were a late addition to the card … on two weeks notice, actually. Talbott will look to bounce back after suffering the first-ever loss at the hands of Raoni Barcelos, putting him at 9-1 as a professional. As for Lima, he is out to collect his fifteenth straight win, third inside the Octagon, and looks to capitalize on the momentum by handing Talbott his second straight defeat, which would prompt his stock to skyrocket, bringing him bigger and better fights moving forward.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC 317 Fight Card:

UFC 317 Main Event on ESPN+ PPV:

155 lbs.: Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira for vacant Lightweight championship

UFC 317 Main Card on ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):

125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France
155 lbs.: Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
125 lbs.: Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van (not Manel Kape)
135 lbs.: Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima

UFC 317 Late ‘Prelims’ Under Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues
145 lbs.: Hyder Amil vs. Jose Delgado
125 lbs.: Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez
155 lbs.: Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev

UFC 317 Early ‘Prelims’ Under Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Jackson McVey vs. Christopher Ewert (not Sedriques Dumas) CANCELED
265 lbs.: Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines
170 lbs.: Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 317 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

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