Charles Oliveira, Ilia Topuria's Next Best Fights After UFC 317 Results

Ilia Topuria made an emphatic debut in the lightweight division at UFC 317, claiming the vacant title with a first-round knockout win over Charles Oliveira in the main event.

It's a huge win for Topuria and strengthens his case to be considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. With Islam Makhachev moving up to pursue the welterweight title, Topuria is now the face of one of the deepest divisions.

But being a champion of that kind of division means there's always another challenge right around the corner.

Oliveira isn't an easy out, but the competition will continue to heat up for Topuria.

Here, we'll break down the top options for the new champion and what could be on the horizon for Do Bronx.

Topuria's Next Best Fights

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• Arman Tsarukyan
• Justin Gaethje
• Islam Makhachev

Ilia Topuria clearly has big plans for his career and he backed up the confidence at UFC 317. Going from featherweight to lightweight isn't easy. Adding a second belt coming off of wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway is legendary work.

A third weight class could be an eventuality if Topuria continues this trajectory, but there's still plenty of work to do as a lightweight.

Beating Arman Tsarukyan would be a good start. The 28-year-old was supposed to fight Islam Makhachev in January, but pulled out of the fight with an injury before Renato Moicano took his place.

Tsarukyan is the No. 1-ranked lightweight in the latest UFC rankings and beat Charles Oliveira by decision the last time he was in the cage.

If Dana White and Co. would rather make Tsarukyan take a fight before challenging for the belt then you can't go wrong with Justin Gaethje. The Highlight is a guaranteed fun fight and he's won three of his last four.

A win would cement Topuria as a legitimate lightweight with back-to-back wins over two divisional mainstays.

Of course, the boldest move would be for Topuria to find a way to meet Makhachev next. The most likely way that would happen at this point is if Makhachev's move up to welterweight flops, but the two could meet at 170 one day.

Oliveira's Next Best Fights

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Paddy Pimblett throws a punch against Michael Chandler

• Mateusz Gamrot
• Paddy Pimblett
• Beneil Dariush

Unless Charles Oliveira wants to retire, this isn't the last we've seen of him. He has shown the ability to bounce back from tough losses multiple times and a loss to Topuria isn't the end of the world.

Still, it would be wise for him and the UFC to let his next fight be against someone toward the bottom of the top 10.

The idea of Oliveira giving Mateusz Gamrot or Paddy Pimblett the stage to see if they are ready for the upper echelon of the division is an interesting proposition.

Gamrot just bounced back from a split decision loss to Dan Hooker with a decision win over L'udovit Klein. A bout against Oliveira would be a better chance to show his grappling chops.

Pimblett just scored a big win over Michael Chandler. A win over Oliveira would launch him to a new level while also giving Do Bronx another spotlight fight to build his case for a title fight.

There's also Beneil Dariush. He's now coming off a nice win over Renato Moicano at UFC 317.