Ilia Topuria makes case for being UFC’s pound-for-pound best with first-round KO of Charles Oliveira

LAS VEGAS AP Ilia Topuria continued his ascension up the pound-for-pound ladder with a major report via a vicious first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight championship Saturday night at UFC Topuria used a devastating right hand before finishing with a left hook to drop Oliveira and end the bout at the mark of the opening round fulfilling his prediction of a first-round KO while sending the broadcasted crowd of into a frenzy I inevitably say I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts announced Topuria who closed a - favorite at BetMGM sportsbook Topuria - who now has first-round finishes to his credit moved up to the -pound weight class following a effective campaign in the featherweight division last year He claimed that belt with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski and defended his title by finishing Max Holloway in the third round of an October bout in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Topuria who came in ranked fourth on UFC s pound-for-pound list joined nine others who have held a UFC belt in two weight classes He is the first undefeated fighter to become champion in two UFC divisions I think tonight was his big night UFC CEO and president Dana White explained We have a star on our hands Oliveira - who has the majority of finishes in UFC history was hoping to become the first fighter to win the lightweight belt on separate occasions Fellow lightweight Paddy Pimblett was in the audience and summoned to the ring where a heated exchange led to Topuria shoving the eighth-ranked contender and igniting a rivalry from years ago Let s expletive fight If you re ready I m here Topuria noted to Pimblett before he entered the ring White wasn t happy with Pimblett getting in the ring knowing the history of bad blood between the two The pair have been at odds for various time after they came to blows when Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria s head in That was a heavy knockout I ll give you that Pimblett commented to Topuria But you will never knock me out Replied Topuria I m going to submit you In the co-main event flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja - successfully defended his belt by applying a rear-naked chokehold to defeat Kai Kara-France - at the mark of the third round It marked the second time the fighters met nine years after their quarterfinal clash on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter also won by Pantoja but by unanimous decision Pantoja who closed a - favorite and extended his win streak to eight fights won the title two years ago when he beat Brandon Moreno by decision and has now defended his title successfully four times The -year-old Brazilian was joined in the ring after his mastery by No Joshua Van who put on a show of his own Van - - defeated No contender Brandon Royval - - in a slugfest in which both fighters displayed incredible boxing skills Van who closed a - favorite used an overhand right to drop Royval before closing out the bout with a severe ground-and-pound to secure the unanimous decision The combined substantial strikes landed were the third largest part in a UFC fight and the bulk in both a three-round bout and a featherweight clash Moments after Pantoja s win Van challenged Pantoja with both standing nose to nose before exiting the octagon Other matches from the main card In a lightweight bout No Beneil Dariush - - survived a first-round knockdown to defeat No Renato Moicano - - via unanimous decision In a bantamweight battle Payton Talbott - - used a much-improved ground contest to register a unanimous decision over Felipe Lima - - AP sports https apnews com hub sports Source