Max Holloway says fans shouldn’t count Charles Oliveira out against Ilia Topuria at UFC 317.

This Saturday, Oliveira and Topuria square off in the main event of UFC 317 for the vacant lightweight title. It’s Topuria’s opportunity to become only the 10th multi-division champion in UFC history, while for Oliveira, he could become the first person to ever hold the lightweight title more than once. The odds suggest Topuria will be the man to make history on Saturday as he’s a sizable betting favorite over “Do Bronx,” but Holloway — who has fought both men — says fans shouldn’t be so quick to bury Oliveira.

“This should be a fun one, man,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “I got to share the octagon with the two of these men. Everybody knows how it went with both men, especially with my last fight. This fight is going to be super fun.

“A lot of people are counting Charles Oliveira out, which kind of, you guys don’t learn your lesson. You can’t count this man out. This man always finds a way to somehow win.

“What I see happening is — Charles likes getting hit. There’s not — when Ilia hits people, we all see what happens. So, the thing is, with this fight, the real big question mark is, that first shot that Ilia lands, is it going to put him away? It is going to put Charles Oliveira away, and is Charles going to not be able to recover from it? That is the biggest question here. Whenever Ilia lands on Charles first, does it put him away completely? Or do we see the wounded Charles get back up somehow, fight back in the fight, and somehow gets a finish?”

Holloway met both Topuria and Oliveira in featherweight fights, though nearly a decade apart. “Blessed” fought Oliveira in the main event of UFC Saskatoon in 2015, winning by TKO after Oliveira suffered a throat injury. He fought Topuria just last year, losing by TKO in their featherweight title fight at UFC 308. And having fought both men, he knows how dangerous both can be.

“If Ilia gets a finish or a knockout, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Holloway said. “But if Charles wins with either a submission or a finish of his own, even a knockout finish of his own, it doesn’t surprise me. This fight is super up in the air. A lot of people are counting Charles Oliveira out, but that’s when he thrives in being the underdog. I don’t know how many times we’ve counted this man out and he somehow found a way to win.

“From my perspective, this fight will be decided probably in the first three minutes, four minutes of this fight. Because Oliveira is going to get touched, and is Ilia going to touch him with something that puts him out cold, or will it hurt him and he finds a way to fight back? That’s the main thing with this fight.

“If I was a betting man, on this fight, and Charles Oliveira is the underdog, Charles Oliveira is one of the best fighters in the world to put money on as an underdog. That’s all I’m saying. I’m not really picking a winner here, I’m just going to tell you guys this straight up, I’m not going to be surprised if Ilia wins by knockout, and I’m not going to be surprised if Charles somehow pulls it off and wins by a finish or a knockout, too.”

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VIDEO STEW

UFC 317 official weigh-ins.

Between the Links.

Youngs X Talbott 2

UFC Embedded.

Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez press conference.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

All love.

Well, maybe not all.

Arnold Allen?

If it works, it works!

Overcome with emotion.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lukasz Brzeski (9-6-1, 1 NC) vs. Ryan Spann (22-11); UFC 318, July 19.

FINAL THOUGHTS

One more sleep. I think UFC 317 is the best card of the year on paper. Let’s see if it delivers.

EXIT POLL

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