It’s not long until the next UFC PPV event arrives, as we are only one fight night away from International Fight Week. UFC 317 will feature two title bouts, along with some thrilling battles to look forward to in Las Vegas.
The main event is a fight for the vacant Lightweight Championship between the #2 contender, Charles Oliveira, and former Featherweight Champion, Ilia Topuria.
The co-main Event is a Flyweight title bout as Alexandre Pantoja defends his belt against the #4 contender, Kai Kara-France.
Very recently, there has been some news of the backup fighter for the main event, as well as an addition to the UFC 317 fight card.
Arman Tsarukyan Serves as Backup Fighter for Title Fight
Tsarukyan will serve as the replacement for the main event, if needed, for his possible first UFC title shot.
The Armenian was initially scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight belt at UFC 311, but a back injury forced him out of the fight.
The #1 contender has faced Oliveira before, in his last bout, where he defeated the Brazilian in a razor-close split decision at UFC 300.
That particular fight was a title eliminator, which would decide who was next for the #1 pound-for-pound fighter.
‘Ahalkalakets’ has earned himself a position at the top of the Lightweight rankings, with himself being on a four-fight win streak.
He was reportedly expected to be a title challenger for Makhachev at UFC 311, as both men had previously faced each other.
This occurred at UFC Saint Petersburg in April 2019, when the Russian defeated Tsarukyan by unanimous decision.
Since that particular loss, the Georgia-born fighter has gradually made a name for himself and has only lost to one other fighter, Mateusz Gamrot, during his run to a title shot.
Tsarukyan holds notable knockout and technical knockout victories over the likes of Joel Alvarez, Joaquim Silva, and Beneil Dariush.
Payton Talbott Is Back in an Interesting Matchup
With the full line-up and bout order not yet announced for UFC 317, it is confirmed that the Bantamweight prospect will be competing.
Talbott suffered his first professional loss in his last fight, losing to Raoni Barcelos by unanimous decision at UFC 311.
The American had earned two seriously good knockout wins before that, stopping Cameron Saaiman and Yanis Ghemmouri.
It’s clear that Talbott is aiming to find redemption in his hometown, but he faces a tough contest in home territory.
Felipe Lima will be taking on the standout prospect as he tries to make a statement win in Las Vegas.
The Brazilian is on a 14-fight win streak and has only lost once, which happened on his MMA debut.
‘Jungle Boy’ has only had two fights in the UFC, defeating Muhammad Naimov by submission at UFC Saudi Arabia and Miles Johns by unanimous decision at UFC Tampa.
The 27-year-old will make his UFC Bantamweight debut, which could be an advantage for Talbott, but it seems that this battle will be very hard to predict.