Charles Oliveira's confession about Topuria's KO: "The hardest punch I've ever taken"

On June 29, at UFC 317, Ilia Topuria was crowned the company's first undefeated double champion after knocking out Charles Oliveira in the first round to claim the lightweight title. 'El Matador' promised to knock out 'Do Bronx' quickly and he did just that, while the Brazilian has bounced back in the best possible way after being finished for the first time in such a brutal manner.

In an interview with 'Flexcidine', Oliveira spoke about how he experienced that defeat from the inside, and the feeling he had of being knocked out for the first time. On other occasions he had been finished by TKO, but on this occasion Topuria's combination directly turned his lights out, a new sensation for him.

"It was the hardest blow I have ever received," he revealed. At the start of the fight, 'Do Bronx' managed to land a strong elbow to Topuria, who was unfazed. Later, the Brazilian attempted a takedown but it was Ilia who ended up on top, able to escape an attempted heel hook from Oliveira. Finally came the combination that crowned the Spanish-Georgian fighter. He feinted with jabs to the body, and attacked with two hooks in the most devastating way possible.

In this way, Ilia extended his KO winning streak to three in a row, after finishing with another hook to Alexander Volkanovski to take the featherweight belt from him and later defend it with another left hook against Max Holloway - no one had knocked him out during his career either. Oliveira was the third, although all of them have recovered in the best possible way.

There is life after Topuria

When 'El Matador' moved up to lightweight, the featherweight belt was left vacant, and that was when redemption came for Volkanovski. 'The Great' faced Diego Lopes at UFC 314 for the title, and he regained it more than a year later with a unanimous decision. Holloway's case was no different. Blessed was still the BMF champion, as that title was not on the line against Topuria, and he defended it at UFC 317 to spoil the final fight of Dustin Poirier's career - unanimous decision. Two redemption stories, and there was still the third.

After the knockout he suffered in June, many advised Oliveira to take several months off to allow his jaw to heal. However, 'Do Bronx' decided to return less than four months later to headline the UFC Rio card in his homeland. Five years later, the prodigal son was returning home, with many doubts and criticisms surrounding him. Initially he was going to face Rafael Fiziev, but an injury to 'Ataman' meant that it was Mateusz Gamrot who was finally his opponent

From an elite striker, Charles went on to face one of the best grapplers in the division, but he said yes anyway. Not only that, but he put on one of the best performances of his career, steamrolling Gamrot and submitting him in the second round. Because yes, there is life after Topuria, and curiously both Oliveira and Holloway will face each other in the main event of UFC 326 - March 8 - with the BMF belt at stake.