Charles of the Bronx won in UFC 309 and now he wants the belt. Photo: Instagram / Charles of the Bronx
With Islam makhachev deciding to move up in weight to seek the opportunity to win the double championship in the welterweight division (up to 77,1 kg), Charles do Bronx and Ilia Topuria will duel to decide the new owner of the lightweight belt (up to 70,3 kg) in UFC 317. However, the Russian's decision to vacate the title ended up prolonging a long-standing scenario in the category. For almost a decade, no fighter has become the king of the division by defeating the current champion.
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On June 28, another dream will come true. I'll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I'm just fighting for my dreams. It's unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 pic.twitter.com/YSutHz4U2h
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) May 13, 2025
Although the Ultimate's most populous division has had some memorable fights in recent years, the last time a challenger reached the highest position in MMA with a victory against a former title holder was at UFC 205, in November 2016. At the time, Conor McGregor became the first double champion in the organization's history by knocking out Eddie Alvarez in the second round.
A Irish victory was one of the most memorable moments in the history of MMA, especially since it took place at the organization's first event in New York, at Madison Square Garden, one of the most important arenas in combat sports. However, since Notório's triumph, all three subsequent champions have won vacant belts.
McGregor then faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in boxing and Khabib Nurmagomedov became the new champion with victory against To the fifth, in April 2018. The Russian, in turn, defended the title three times and retired in 2020. Thus, the title was vacant once again.
In this context, it was time for Charles of the Bronx reach the top of the category, by knocking out Michael chandler in May of the following year. The Brazilian defended the belt once, against Dustin poirier, but lost the title after failing to make the division weight before facing Justin gaethje.
C. do Bronx submitted J. Gaethje in the UFC 274 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)
Charles is involved in a new dispute for the vacant belt
When Islam makhachev He finished the Brazilian and reached the top of the division, capturing a vacant belt. Now, after becoming the fighter with the most defenses in the history of the category, the Russian has left the category to try to be another athlete to become a double champion.
Charles finds himself involved in a vacant title fight for the third time in his career, and if he wins, he will become the first fighter to capture the lightweight belt (up to 70,3 kg) on two occasions.
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