Charles Oliveira is ready for war. After his dominant display against Michael Chandler, Oliveira is on the cusp of making history. Having lost his championship earlier, the Brazilian has an opportunity to get it back once again. However, standing in his way is the menacing Ilia Topuria. With some thundering knockouts, Topuria is threatening to pour cold waters on Oliveira’s dreams. But ‘Du Bronx’ is looking unfazed. And he has a good reason for it, too.
Speaking recently on the ‘Full Violence’ podcast, Oliveira pondered upon the fight. Analyzing the same, the Brazilian stated that Ilia Topuria needs to respect the lightweight fighters. This is simply because Topuria used to fight in the featherweight division. And thus, his experience with the relatively smaller athletes will differ from that of lightweights.
“[Ilia] is coming from featherweight, so he has to respect the lightweights. [I hit harder than Ilia] for sure,” said Oliveira.
Charles Oliveira says he hits harder than Ilia Topuria 👀
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 12, 2025
"[Ilia] is coming from featherweight, so he has to respect the lightweights. [I hit harder than Ilia] for sure."
(via @Full_Violence) #UFC317 pic.twitter.com/yddPIAm3nR
Now, Topuria is known to be a hard puncher. He has knocked out the likes of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Thus, when Oliveira claims to punch harder, it is usually considered quite a bold claim. However, despite all the talks, UFC veteran Michael Bisping has sided with Topuria.
Michael Bisping Backs Ilia Topuria To Become A Two-Division Champion
Ilia Topuria has already conquered the featherweight division. Now, he has his eyes set on lightweight. With a lot of theories going around, UFC veteran Michael Bisping has chimed in with yet another one. In a recently uploaded video, Bisping detailed why he is inclined towards Ilia Topuria getting the better of Charles Oliveira.
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“I’m leaning towards Ilia Topuria. I think the power in his hands is significant, and he has the wrestling to probably be able to stop the takedowns. He looks big, he looks bulked up, he’s going to be able to hit harder,” Bisping stated.
Thus, with the heat turning up, it now remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.
