Ilia Topuria Physique Difference Between Featherweight & Lightweight in UFC

Ilia Topuria returns to the UFC Octagon on Saturday night seeking to become champion in a second weight division.

Having proven himself a dominant force at featherweight, the undefeated Georgian will move up to lightweight to challenge for the vacant title in that weight class against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. The championship is up for grabs as former titleholder, Islam Makhachev, opted to switch divisions and test himself at welterweight later this year.

Topuria was a fearsome striker at 145 lbs. He knocked out the featherweight great Alexander Volkanovski to claim the gold and then did the same to Max Holloway before opting to leave the division in search of glory at 155 lbs.

Since finishing Holloway at UFC 309 last October and vacating his featherweight crown, the 28-year-old has been preparing for his lightweight debut. The major motivation behind Topuria’s move up in weight was the fact that he had to cut more than a stone to make the featherweight limit.

Ilia Topuria & Charles Oliveira’s professional MMA records (as of 26/06/25)
	Charles Oliveira	Charles Oliveira
Fights	16	46
Wins	16	35
Losses	0	10
No contests	0	1

Speaking back in March, Ilia confirmed that he had vacated his UFC championship as he simply couldn’t continue to drain his body to make the 145 lbs limit any longer. He stated:

“I know I’m not going to cut weight right now, and I don’t want to hold down an entire division. There are guys who are preparing every day, who are fighting, just like me, for their dreams. Keeping the title would be very selfish of me. Besides, I’m the world champion, whether I vacate the title or not. I don’t need a belt to feel worthy.”

New Comparison Images Show Why Topuria Moved Up to Lightweight

His 155 lbs debut takes place vs Charles Oliveira at UFC 317

Since announcing his decision to make the switch, the fighter has packed on plenty of size. Comparison photos showing the massive difference between the Topuria’s physique at featherweight and lightweight have emerged ahead of Saturday’s main event at T-Mobile Arena. Sporting a far fuller physique than he ever did at featherweight, Topuria has added considerable bulk to his frame.

It remains to be seen whether Topuria can replicate the dominance he showed at featherweight – where he has recorded each of his eight victories to date inside the Octagon. From the look of the various comparison images that have surfaced in recent days, Ilia appears to have handled the transition well.

However, while the former featherweight titleholder looks even more menacing at lightweight, he has a significant task on his hands if he is to knock out Oliveira. Although the Brazilian has lost via KO on four occasions during his 46-bout MMA career, he hasn’t been knocked out inside the Octagon since suffering a TKO stoppage at the hands of Paul Felder nearly eight years ago.

As much hype as there is behind Topuria’s power given his 62.5% KO ratio in the UFC, Oliveira believes he has what it takes to turn the tables on his opponent and record a stoppage of his own. After months of speculation about the fight, the talking will stop on Saturday night when Topuria and Oliveira go toe-to-toe in Las Vegas.