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Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria makes his debut at lightweight on Saturday night at UFC 317 against Charles Oliveira in the bout for the vacant lightweight title. But before the fight could even take place, Topuria found himself in the middle of a controversy.
Topuria vacated the featherweight title and moved up 10 pounds to lightweight after stating that the cut to featherweight had become too difficult. As it turns out, the cut to lightweight might not be all that much easier.
Ilia Topuria missed weight at 155.5. The commission comes back confirms 155.5 & somebody says “HE MUST MAKE 155”
Then magically he says “155” & claims he misspoke. How is this not the biggest story heading into UFC 317??? pic.twitter.com/UMg00AY83n
— MMA Joey (@MMAJOEYC) June 28, 2025
Ilia Topuria Appeared To Have Missed 155-Pound Weight Limit For UFC 317 Title Fight
In the majority of UFC fights, fighters are allowed a 1-pound allowance during weigh-ins. But for title fights, both competitors must make the weight on the number. If they do not make weight, they cannot win the title in the fight the following night. If the current champion misses weight, they will forfeit the belt and cannot win it back in the following night’s fight. That’s what happened to Oliveira when he was stripped of the lightweight title in 2022.
When Topuria stepped on the scale on Friday morning ahead of his fight with Oliveira, the Nevada State Athletic Commission representative handling weigh-ins announced his weight as 155.5.
Nobody batted an eye. But Topuria needed to make 155.0. The representative then checked again, said “155.5” and then said “he’s gotta make 155.”
However, the NSAC rep then goes back to the scale, without Topuria changing anything, and announces “155!” to those in attendance. Seems a little bit fishy, no?
If Topuria was actually over 155, he’d have been allowed an extra hour to get down to 155. Odds are, he would have been able to do so, given that he didn’t appear entirely drawn out at weigh-ins. But there’s no guarantee he would have! And given the way that Oliveira lost the title when he was the champion, he has to at least be a little bit suspicious about how this all went down.