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With just over a month to go until the main event of UFC 317 between Ilia Topuria (16-0) and Charles Oliveira (35-10) for the UFC lightweight title, the messages are already being exchanged. Always from a sporting point of view and never crossing the red line of the personal, both 'El Matador' and 'Do Bronx' have sent messages to warm up the fight.
The latest of these was from Charles Oliveira in a chat with 'Full Violence'. And the veteran and iconic Chute Boxe fighter is quite clear in his message.
"It's a great fight, he's a great fighter... but I don't need to prove to anyone who I am. I'm going to knock this guy out. That's for real," Oliveira said when asked about Ilia.
I don't need to prove to anyone who I am. I'm going to knock this guy out. That's serious
Oliveira fought twice in 2024: one with defeat to Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) at UFC 300 by split decision and another against Michael Chandler (23-10) at the end of the year, with victory by unanimous decision. It was the moment when 'Do Bronx' returned to the race for the belt, which was precipitated by Tsarukyan's injury withdrawal from UFC 311, when he was going to fight against Islam Makhachev (27-1).
Ilia Topuria, meanwhile, knocked out two of the division's GOATS: first Alex Volkanovski (27-4) to claim the featherweight belt and then Max Holloway (26-8), in his first (and last) defense of the 145-pound title. Few have shown the level of striking that Ilia has shown in the modern UFC... and few have the ground and wrestling background that the Spanish-Georgian has
It will therefore be interesting to see what kind of strategy Oliveira, the fighter with the most finishes (20) in UFC history and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master, comes up with