Ilia “El Matador” Topuria is fighting Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira in the Main Event of UFC 317 on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Topuria is the former 145-pound champion with an undefeated record of 16-0, while Oliveira is a former lightweight champion with three title victories.
Here is my best bet for the Main Event of UFC 317.
Ilia Topuria To Win By KO/TKO/DQ (-175)
Topuria has won his last two fights against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway by knockout. With Topuria being such a big favorite (-425) on DraftKings Sportsbook, let’s look at a better way to back the former featherweight champion.
“El Matador” has won two straight fights by knockout and five of his previous seven. Since entering the UFC, Topuria has had one thing on his mind: to knock out his opponent. Topuria is 8-0 in the UFC with five knockouts.
Topuria is an accurate and precise striker possessing life-changing power. Even though he is moving up 10 pounds, it shouldn’t affect him much. Topuria averages 4.69 significant strikes per minute while landing at a 47 percent rate. Oliveira is eight percent more accurate but only lands 3.4 significant strikes per minute.
A big part of Topuria’s game that doesn’t get talked about much is his defense. As well as he does at landing powerful punches, the opposite is true for his opponents. Topuria does a great job of protecting himself, making it difficult for opponents to land a major combination on him. If Topuria begins the contest slowly and gives himself time to feel out Oliveira, he should be able to land big counterstrikes. Topuria is a hunter in the Octagon, and when he gets in rhythm, it will be hard for anyone to stop him, including “Do Bronx”.
