UFC 317 Live Winners and Losers, Results
UFC 317 went down on Saturday night, and served as a fitting climax for this year's International Fight Week festivities.
Headlining honors for the card went to Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira. The pair were set to collide for the lightweight belt, which was vacant after former champ Islam Makhachev announced plans to move up to welterweight.
It would be hard to find two more deserving contenders.
Undefeated Georgian-born Spaniard Topuria is the former UFC featherweight champ, and just like Makhachev, recently vacated his belt with ambitions to move up a weight class in search of a second title. There was no questioning his credibility. In his last two fights, he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway—objectively two of the best fighters ever.
His opponent was no less credible. Brazil's Oliveira is a former champion at lightweight, and outside of a championship loss to Makhachev, has looked nigh on unbeatable in recent years, defeating the likes of Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler (twice).
In the end, Topuria achieved his two-division dream, starching Oliveira in the first round. It was one of the most impressive victories in recent MMA history, and cemented him as one of the best fighters on earth right now.
Another world-class talent impressed in the co-main event, as flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja tallied his fourth title defense with a submission win over Kai Kara-France.
All in all, it was an incredible night of fights. Scroll on for complete results of the card, and the real winners and losers of the night.
Loser: Islam Makhachev
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Ilia Topuria might be the best fighter alive right now.
Topuria is the former UFC featherweight champion, but after stunning knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, relinquished that division's belt to pursue a new title at lightweight. He hoped that his championship opportunity would come against the Islam Makhachev, the sport's top pound-for-pound fighter as far as the UFC rankings are concerned. However, Makhachev relinquished his title too, with plans to move up to welterweight on his own hunt for two-division glory.
That left Topuria to battle former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira in the UFC 317 main event. To say he impressed would be an understatement.
It was over in minutes. After surviving an early Oliveira takedown attempt and enjoying a brief period in top position, Topuria called his opponent back to the feet, and promptly knocked him out cold. It was one of the best knockouts of the year so far, and the latest stunning accomplishment on what is becoming one of the best resumes in MMA.
Wouldn't it be nice if he could fight Makhachev?
It would be one of the biggest fights in UFC history, a clash of the two best fighters on earth, both of whom are in the prime of their careers. Unfortunately, it isn't going to happen, because Makhachev couldn't wait to make his move up to welterweight.
From here, Makhachev is all but certain to challenge welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena next. That's a big fight, but it pales in comparison to a fight between Makhachev and Topuria. It won't even generate as much buzz as a fight between Topuria and Paddy Pimblett, which is most likely next thanks to Makhachev's welterweight ambition.
The intention here isn't to throw shade at Makhachev. There's no question he's one of the best fighters alive right now—and maybe the best. The problem is that he is deprived himself of the chance to prove it be leaving his division at the wrong time. The Topuria super fight is right there, and he doesn't seem to want it.
Winner: "One of the Best Flyweights Ever"
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Alexandre Pantoja still has a lot of work to do if he's going to surpass Demetrious Johnson as the best flyweight in UFC history. Yet in the UFC 317 co-main event, he cemented himself as the second-best fighter in the division's history, right behind the legendary "Mighty Mouse."
Pantoja was back in action against New Zealand's Kai Kara-France, who is considered one of the hardest punchers in the division. The challenger's power turned out to be a non-factor, as Pantoja dragged him to the mat, controlled him, and ultimately submitted him with a rear-naked choke in round two.
"He's one of the best flyweights ever," UFC commentator Joe Rogan said after Pantoja's win.
There's no question about that.
Johnson set the bar for his successors incredibly high, with a ridiculous 11 title defenses. Pantoja now has four—a long way off from Johnson's record, but better than any other champion of the division has done.
Time will tell how many title defenses he can collect, but his next one will be a tough one, as he's expected to fight fellow UFC 317 winner Joshua Van.
Winner: A New Contender
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There is a new No. 1 contender in the UFC flyweight division.
The weight class's No. 1 spot was, until recently, held by Brandon Royval. Royval was originally set to return to action against No. 6 contender Manel Kape on the UFC 317 main card. But when Kape was forced out of action by an injury, Royval was matched up with No. 12-ranked Joshua Van.
Van had a lot of hype heading into his short-notice fight with Royval, and for good reason. The upstart 23-year-old from Myanmar was a strong 14-2 overall and entered the Octagon with four straight wins behind him. However, there was no question that Royval represented a gargantuan step up in competition for him. Nobody would have been surprised if he had been outfoxed by his amply more experienced opponent.
That's not how it happened.
Instead, Van beat Royval by unanimous decision in one of the frontrunners for 2025's Fight of the Year honors. In just three rounds, the pair traded 344 strikes—a new record for the flyweight division. The dogged win reaffirmed what we already knew about Van: he is a sharp and potent striker. More importantly, it showed that he has an iron will, having come out on top in a slugfest with the division's top-ranked contender.
After the win, there's no question that a title shot will be next.
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Loser: Father Time
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Father Time is no match for Beneil Dariush.
Dariush has been a staple of the UFC lightweight top-15 for years, and holds wins over a number of high-level opponents, including Diego Ferreira, Tony Ferguson and Mateusz Gamrot. However, after a pair of stoppage losses to Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira, he entered into an extremely long layoff.
His UFC 317 fight with Renato Moicano was his first since December of 2023. At 36 years old, and with salt-and-pepper hair, there was plenty of reason to doubt he could win his long-awaited comeback fight.
In the end, Dariush proved that, while he may be nearing the end of his prime, he is still a wholly capable lightweight. Moicano has beaten all but the very best fighters he's met at lightweight, and Dariush handled him quite thoroughly, scoring a clear-cut unanimous decision win, mostly based on his grappling work.
Dariush may never contend for the lightweight title, but his longevity in the division is commendable. Still not convinced? Consider this: after beating Moicano, Dariush has the second-most wins in lightweight history—behind the prolific Jim Miller—at 17.
Loser: The Hermansson Era
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Jack Hermansson has been a staple of the UFC middleweight rankings for years.
Not anymore.
The Swedish-Norwegian was back in action against Brazil's Gregory Rodrigues in the final bout of the UFC 317 undercard. It was a crucial bout for him. Despite being part of the middleweight top-15 for ages, he has hardly fought over the last couple of years—his 2024 decision win over Joe Pyfer being his only fight since 2022.
Hermansson's prolonged inactivity made his place in the rankings increasingly dubious. His UFC 317 fight was his chance to prove that he still belonged.
In the end, we got proof that he is no longer a top middleweight. Before the first round was up, Rodrigues short-circuited the Hermansson with a blistering left hook, and regrettably followed up with a somewhat barbaric ground strike that left the Norseman unconscious for an uncomfortable amount of time.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Rodrigues. The Brazilian recently had another chance to crash the rankings in a fight with Jared Cannonier, but came up short in that instance. That loss implied he would never be a serious contender, but his UFC 317 win over Hermansson suggested otherwise.
One way or the other, it seems that Hermansson's time amid the middleweight elite is over. At 37, there is no chance he'll ever contend for the title. If that's true, he's just another journeyman, and he can safely be removed from his long-time perch in the top-15 to clear the way for the next generation—and perhaps Rodrigues.
Winner: A Real Prospect
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Payton Talbott started 2025 as one of the hottest contenders in the UFC bantamweight division. Then he ran into Brazilian veteran Raoni Barcelos.
Talbott met Barcelos at UFC 311 in January. Despite all the hype he had at the time, he was soundly beaten by his older foe, who showed off vastly superior grappling throughout three rounds.
It was a deflating loss for Talbott, and one that caused many of his believers to turn on him. It's safe to say his UFC 317 victory will encourage his skeptics to reconsider.
Talbott was back in action in the first bout of the main card, taking on another Brazilian in Felipe Lima. Ahead of time, Lima was arguably even more hyped than Talbott, and for good reason, with a 14-1 record and some very impressive finishes. He entered the cage as a significant betting favorite.
In the end, however, Talbott proved that his reputation as one of the bantamweight division's hottest prospects was justified, despite his recent loss. For three rounds, the once-beaten American resisted Lima's takedown attempts and beat the Brazilian on the ground, dazzling commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier with the dramatic improvements he'd made in the very area where Barcelos beat him in January.
Time will tell if he ever evolves into a ranked bantamweight contender, but his UFC 317 win was undeniable proof that he is, in fact, the real deal.
Rogan said it himself, proclaiming "the hype is justified" as the third and final round of the bantamweight fight concluded.
Winner: The UFC's Most Reliable Finisher
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When it comes to Terrance McKinney, UFC fans know what they are going to get. The Chicago-born Orlando resident is one of the most reliable sources of entertainment on the promotion's roster.
McKinney, a lightweight, was back in action on the UFC 317 undercard. His opponent this time around was notoriously tough Russian Viacheslav Borshchev.
Heading into the fight, McKinney had finished eight of his 16 wins by knockout, and eight by submission—and most of those in the first round. That is an objectively insane stat, but even still, it was difficult to discount Viacheslav in their fight, as the Russian has shown incredible grit in the past.
Viacheslav showed off all of that grit against McKinney, but even that couldn't spare him from the American's venom. Early in the first round, McKinney locked up a slick guillotine choke, and soon after the choke was applied, the Russian was tapping out. UFC commentator Joe Rogan seemed shocked that McKinney won by submission, but failed to do his research. It was par for the course for McKinney, who is as dangerous on the mat as he is on the feet.
He may never be a champion, but he is as talented as anybody in the opening minutes of his fights.
UFC 317 Results
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UFC 317 Main Card
Ilia Topuria def. Charles Oliveira by knockout via punches at 2:27 of round 1
Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Kara-France by submission via rear-naked choke at 1:55 of round 3
Joshua Van def. Brandon Royval by unanimous decision
Beneil Dariush def. Renato Moicano by unanimous decision
Payton Talbott def. Felipe Lima via unanimous decision
UFC 317 Prelims
Gregory Rodrigues def. Jack Hermansson via KO a 4:21 of round 1
Jose Miguel Delgado def. Hyder Amil by KO at 0:26 of round 1
Tracy Cortez def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision
Terrance McKinney def. Viacheslav Borshchev by submission via guillotine at 0:55 of round 1
Jacobe Smith def. Niko Price by submission via rear-naked choke at 4:03 of round 2
Jhonata Diniz def. Alvin Hines by unanimous decision
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