Dana White unveils UFC 317 main event featuring Makhachev vs Maddalena

UFC CEO Dana White revealed the main and co-main events for UFC 317, scheduled for June 28 during the promotion’s International Fight Week, via Instagram Live on Tuesday.

The headline bout will feature former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira taking on former featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria for the vacant UFC lightweight championship.

Reigning champion Islam Makhachev has officially vacated the belt, confirming his move up to the welterweight division as he begins his pursuit of Jack Della Maddalena’s newly claimed welterweight title at a future date.

In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his title against Kai Kara-France. Pantoja enters the fight riding a seven-fight winning streak, with successful defenses against Kai Asakura, Steve Erceg, and Brandon Royval.

Kara-France, meanwhile, is coming off a quick TKO victory over Erceg and will be looking to seize his second opportunity at UFC gold. His previous title shot came in 2022 when he fought Brandon Moreno for the interim flyweight championship.

White also confirmed a marquee matchup for UFC 319, set for August 18 in Chicago, where middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis will defend his belt against the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.

Du Plessis is coming off a second victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. Meanwhile, Chimaev (14-0) continues his impressive rise, having recently defeated Kamaru Usman, Kevin Holland, and Gilbert Burns.

Additional Bouts Announced

UFC 317 Lineup:

Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape

Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov

Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano

Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues

Jhonata Diniz vs. Justin Tafa

Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez

UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. de Ridder (Abu Dhabi):

Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault