Ilia Topuria called his shot. Again.

Mere days after promising to knock out Charles Oliveira in the first round — and explaining in thorough detail why exactly that was going to happen — Topuria once more made good on his word, melting the former UFC champion with a ferocious first-round knockout at UFC 317 to claim the vacant lightweight title on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In doing so, Topuria joined the ranks of two-division UFC champions, having vacated his featherweight strap to move up for the opportunity.

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“I represent the new generation of the mixed martial arts," he declared post-fight. "This is the next level of the game.”

Following his win, Topuria called out popular UFC lightweight contender and longtime rival Paddy Pimblett, who was sitting cageside. “Listen, I don’t think that he’s going to accept it — but if he thinks that he’s ready, come on you blonde b****," Topuria declared. "Bring that b**** here.”

Pimblett quickly obliged, entering the cage to face off with UFC's new lightweight king.

“That was a heavy knockout, I’ll give you that. Respect. But you will never knock me out. You cannot knock me out,” Pimblett challenged.

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“I’m going to put my balls on your forehead, you little p****,” Topuria replied, before shoving Pimblett and igniting a minor scuffle inside the cage.

Topuria (17-0) entered Saturday on the heels of one of the greatest two-fight runs in MMA history, having knocked out featherweight legends Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in back-to-back bouts to ascend as the UFC's next potential superstar and capture Uncrowned's 2024 Fight of the Year award. A native of Georgia who calls Spain his adopted home, "El Matador" was once again transcendent in his debut to the lightweight title scene, immediately meeting Oliveira (35-11, 1 NC) in the center of the cage and blasting the former champion with heat-seeking barrages, opening a wide cut over Oliveira's eye.

As the action moved toward the fence, Topuria fended off an Oliveira takedown attempt followed by a leglock attempt, then smashed a picture-perfect right-left combination flush into the Brazilian's chin, toppling him instantly. Two more follow-up punches on the ground were all it took, forcing referee Marc Goddard to mercifully wave off the bout at the 2:27 mark of the opening round.

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Topuria is Uncrowned's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, though the nature of his historic run may prompt questions about whether he should overtake the man he initially moved to lightweight to face: Former champ Islam Makhachev, who similarly vacated to move up and vie for welterweight gold.

Oliveira, 35, remains one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history, holding promotional records for the most finishes (20), most submissions (16) and most post-fight bonuses (20) ever under the UFC banner. However, Saturday's loss drops "Do Bronx" to just 2-3 over his past five bouts, which includes two stoppage losses in opportunities to win back the 155-pound belt he lost in 2022.

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In the evening's co-main event, No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter Alexandre Pantoja (30-5) continue his assault across the 125-pound ranks with his fourth consecutive defense of the UFC flyweight title, this time against Kai Kara-France (25-12, 1 NC). In a dominant showing, Pantoja stopped Kara-France with a third-round rear-naked choke submission to reign supreme once more atop the UFC's lightest men's division.

Check out full UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned's round-by-round play-by-play for the final seven bouts of the night.

Lightweight championship: Ilia Topuria def. Charles Oliveira via KO (punches) at 2:27 of R1 | Watch finish

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Flyweight championship: Alexandre Pantoja def. Kai Kara-France via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:55 of R3 | Watch finish

Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Brandon Royval via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush def. Renato Moicano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: Payton Talbott def. Felipe Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Middleweight: Gregory Rodrigues def. Jack Hermansson via KO (punch) at 4:21 of R1 | Watch finish

Featherweight: Jose Miguel Delgado def. Hyder Amil via KO (knee and punches) at 0:26 of R1 | Watch finish

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Women's flyweight: Tracy Cortez def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Lightweight: Terrance McKinney def. Viacheslav Borshchev via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:55 of R1 | Watch finish

Welterweight: Jacobe Smith def. Niko Price via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:03 of R2 | Watch finish

Heavyweight: Jhonata Diniz def. Alvin Hines via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)