Ilia Topuria expects to break more than one Oliveira heart in the UFC 317 main event.
After vacating the featherweight gold after just a single successful defense, Topuria will soon enter the Octagon for his chance to achieve two-division glory in the UFC.
Topuria headlines UFC 317 against Charles Oliveira, as the pair do battle for the lightweight belt that Islam Makhachev will be vacating ahead of his own shot at a second championship.
Despite Topuria’s feared power and undefeated status, Oliveira has remained confident of upsetting the odds. But that self-belief, ‘El Matador’ says, led to the Brazilian making a personal lapse in judgment before traveling to Las Vegas.
Ilia Topuria says Charles Oliveira should not have made UFC title promise to his children
During an episode of the UFC 317 Embedded: Vlog Series, Oliveira’s wife revealed that the former lightweight champ had made a promise to his son to bring home the title after already fulfilling a similar vow for his daughter.
Topuria reacted to that during a fight week interview on the Kairouz Bros YouTube channel. Despite always being confident of victory, the ex-featherweight king admitted he wouldn’t make such promises in fear of breaking his child’s heart.
On this occasion, he expects that to sadly be the case for the Oliveira family.
“That’s why I don’t like to promise to my kids those kind of things,” Topuria said. “He don’t have to involve his kids in professional things.
“Now he’s gonna have to break his heart.”
- READ MORE: Jon Jones reacts to Khabib Nurmagomedov calling him the GOAT in response to polarizing retirement
Ilia Topuria is already looking past Charles Oliveira
Topuria’s confidence has always been noticeably high, and that trend has certainly continued into UFC 317 fight week.
‘El Matador’ has practically laughed off any suggestion that he might not have his hand raised on fight night in Las Vegas, despite his opponent’s credentials, size advantage, and experience in the division.
That’s meant the Spaniard hasn’t shied away from looking ahead. After dismissing UFC 317 backup Arman Tsarukyan, Topuria recently named Justin Gaethje as deserving of a title shot while speaking to Eurosport Spain.
Whether or not the UFC will share that sentiment remains to be seen, especially in light of Gaethje threatening retirement should he be overlooked.