Ilia Topuria is officially recognized as the highest fighter within the UFC after his devastating knockout win at UFC 317.
The Georgian fighter walked into the octagon on Saturday with the prospect to develop into a two-weight champion, having vacated the UFC Featherweight title months earlier.
Ilia Topuria took on Charles Oliveira for the UFC Lightweight championship, however the fight didn’t even get past the primary round.
Topuria viciously knocked out Oliveira after just two and a half minutes, a thunderous right hand sending the previous champion flailing to the ground, and he was unconscious before he hit the canvas.
That win made Topuria the brand new UFC Lightweight champion, but additionally anointed him as the highest fighter in the entire UFC.
Ilia Topuria overtook Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili within the Pound-for-Pound rankings
At just 28 years old, Topuria is recognized as the highest fighter within the UFC as he climbs up the rankings to develop into the highest Pound-for-Pound fighter in the complete promotion.
He prolonged his undefeated streak to 17-0 with the win over Oliveira to develop into a two-weight champion.
As reported by John Morgan on X (formerly often known as Twitter), his big win at UFC 317 helped Topuria to leapfrog each Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili to develop into the #1 Pound-for-Pound fighter within the UFC.
He also noted that Alexandre Pantoja jumped as much as fifth place, following his third-round submission victory over Kai Kara-France at that very same event.
Morgan wrote: “Ilia Topuria is officially the UFC’s recent No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. @Topuriailia moves up two spots to take the highest position, ahead of Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili, within the rankings update following #UFC317.
“Alexandre @PantojaMMA also bumps up 4 spots to No. 5.”
It is difficult to argue together with his status as the highest Pound-for-Pound fighter within the UFC, given the names who’ve tried and didn’t beat “La Leyenda” within the Octagon.
Ilia Topuria has knocked out among the top fighters on this planet en path to being #1 Pound-for-Pound
Topuria thoroughly deserves his place atop the UFC rankings after an incredible five-year run since his UFC debut.
He debuted within the promotion with a victory over Youssef Zalal in 2020, before racking up impressive KO wins over Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, and Jai Herbert.
His submission win over Bryce Mitchell at UFC 282 showed a special side to the knockout artist, and his dominant performance over Josh Emmett the next 12 months proved that again.
| Opponent | Event | Date | Method |
| Charles Oliveira | UFC 317 | June 28, 2025 | Knockout |
| Max Holloway | UFC 308 | October 26, 2024 | Knockout |
| Alexander Volkanovski | UFC 298 | February 17, 2024 | Knockout |
| Josh Emmett | UFC on ABC: Emmett vs Topuria | June 24, 2023 | Unanimous Decision |
| Bryce Mitchell | UFC 282 | December 10, 2022 | Submission |
| Jai Herbert | UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall | March 19, 2022 | Knockout |
| Ryan Hall | UFC 264 | July 10, 2021 | Knockout |
| Damon Jackson | UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori | December 5, 2020 | Knockout |
| Youssef Zalal | UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen | October 11, 2020 | Unanimous Decision |
Nevertheless, Topuria’s last three wins show his incredible credentials. The Georgian knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to assert the UFC Featherweight belt, a title he had won once in a third-round knockout win over Max Holloway.
Still undefeated, Topuria vacated his belt for a shot on the Lightweight title, which he won in only 157 seconds by leaving Oliveira unconscious on the canvas in a powerful win.