Ilia Topuria is favored to win the vacant UFC lightweight title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, following Islam Makhachev‘s move to welterweight, with Topuria having an 80% implied chance of victory according to betting odds.
Ilia Topuria is poised to become the UFC’s next two-division world champ. Exciting, right?
This week, UFC CEO Dana White dropped a bombshell. Islam Makhachev is vacating the lightweight title to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight crown. Meanwhile, Topuria is set to face former champ Charles Oliveira for the vacant belt at UFC 317 on June 28 in Las Vegas. Mark your calendars!
FanDuel has Topuria as a massive -400 favorite to clinch the lightweight title. Oliveira’s odds? A comeback at +285.
So, what does this mean for bettors? Topuria’s got an 80% implied chance of victory. A $100 bet on him returns $125. On Oliveira? You’d get $385. Tempting, huh?
Topuria vacated his featherweight title last February after a knockout win over Max Holloway at UFC 308. Remember his epic knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298? That was something else. Now, he’s eyeing a second divisional title in just his ninth octagon appearance. Impressive!
Oliveira, on the other hand, aims to reclaim the lightweight throne. He first captured it with a win over Michael Chandler at UFC 262, then defended it against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. Unfortunately, he lost the title after missing weight against Justin Gaethje, despite defeating him. Later, Makhachev finished him at UFC 280 for a vacant title.
Since then, Oliveira has been on a rollercoaster. He’s 2-1, with a win over Chandler, a stoppage of Beneil Dariush, and a decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan. Can he bounce back? We’ll see!