UFC 317 will see a new king crowned as Ilia Topuria battles Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC Lightweight championship.
After Islam Makhachev vacated the UFC Lightweight title, his planned title match with Ilia Topuria was scrapped, and a new main event was found.
Former champion Charles Oliveira was drafted in, with the #2 ranked Lightweight challenging for the title against the undefeated Georgian.
The UFC Flyweight title is also on the line in the co-main event, as champion Alexandre Pantoja takes on Kai Kara-France in what many predict to be an exciting fight in Las Vegas.
Ahead of UFC 317, experts at Bloody Elbow have made their staff picks for the two main event fights, as well as the Performance of the Night and the Fight of the Night
Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira predictions
- Harvey Leonard: Ilia Topuria
- Jordan Ellis: Ilia Topuria
- Kyle Dimond: Ilia Topuria
- Jamie Theodosi: Ilia Topuria
The Bloody Elbow experts see only one winner in the UFC 317 main event, and that is with Topuria becoming a two-weight champion.
Topuria vacated his UFC Featherweight championship to secure this fight and will be confident facing off with a man who has been knocked out or submitted eight times in his career.
The Georgian has already predicted exactly how he’ll beat the Brazilian, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t back the undefeated Topuria in his bid to become a two-weight champion in the UFC.
If he does somehow manage to force Topuria to tap out, Oliveira will break the record for the most submission wins in UFC Lightweight history.
However, that seems unlikely, and the Bloody Elbow staff predictions reflect that.
Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France predictions
- Harvey Leonard: Alexandre Pantoja
- Jordan Ellis: Alexandre Pantoja
- Kyle Dimond: Alexandre Pantoja
- Jamie Theodosi: Alexandre Pantoja
The experts are once again in agreement as to who will win the other world title fight at UFC 317.
Despite dominating the division with four title fight victories in a row, Pantoja is one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC.
He has all the skills to beat the Kiwi, especially given Kara-France’s recent record of two losses in his last three fights.
Kara-France’s recent TKO victory over Steve Erceg was impressive, but it simply isn’t enough to give him the edge over the defending champion at UFC 317.
UFC 317 Fight of the Night predictions
- Harvey Leonard: Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van
- Jordan Ellis: Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van
- Kyle Dimond: Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van
- Jamie Theodosi: Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van
For a third prediction in a row, the experts cannot be separated as they predict that the Flyweight contest on the main card will impress the most.
They are backing the clash between the record-breaking Joshua Van and Brandon Royval to impress the most at UFC 317.
Van took the fight on short notice after Manel Kape was forced to pull out due to a broken foot, giving him the chance to take on the #1 Flyweight in the division.
Royval’s last three fights have gone the distance, including a unanimous decision loss to champion Pantoja at UFC 296. He is up against a top striker in any division in Van, whose KO win over Bruno Silva at UFC 316 puts him in good standing for this fight.
This clash will give Van the chance to catapult himself into the upper echelons of the UFC Flyweight division, but Royval could cut him down to size in what could be the Fight of the Night at UFC 317.
UFC 317 Performance of the Night predictions
- Harvey Leonard: Payton Talbott
- Jordan Ellis: Jacobe Smith
- Kyle Dimond: Felipe Lima
- Jamie Theodosi: Ilia Topuria
The experts are looking forward to the main card clash between Payton Talbott and Felipe Lima, although they cannot decide which of the men will walk away with the Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 317.
Harvey is backing Talbott to bounce back from his UFC 311 defeat to Raoni Barcelos – his first UFC defeat in four fights – to put on an impressive performance to beat Lima.
However, Kyle sees “Jungle Boy” continuing his undefeated streak since joining the UFC in 2024 by putting away Lima and adding another win to his record in a top fight at UFC 317.
Meanwhile, Jordan is backing Jacobe Smith to handle his bout with Niko Price with an impressive performance.
He secured the first big UFC knockout of 2025 when he finished off Preston Parsons in January, with that performance making him the big favorite to make a splash on the UFC 317 prelims.
Finally, Jamie cannot look past Topuria to once again finish his opponent with an impressive knockout to win the title in the main event.