We’re less than 48 hours away from UFC 317, and the last-minute predictions are in. The oddsmakers already have Ilia Topuria as the favorite to beat Charles Oliveira, which most people believe is because of ‘El Matador’s momentum. The former featherweight champion has been quite confident since the beginning of training camp about his emerging victorious at the end of the fight, but a UFC legend appears to have another scenario in mind.

Chael Sonnen recalled history when two former title holders fought each other in Dana White’s promotion. Almost all the time, fans saw the younger and lower weight class champion coming out victorious every time. One of those examples is Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez, sharing a 4-year age gap, where, as we know, ‘The Notorious’ won. There are many such instances, but history may not repeat itself when it comes to Ilia Topuria.

“You’ve got two former world champions that are going to fight. The smaller world champion, the guy that comes from his weight class, and the younger of the two, wins every time. That’s a big word for me to use–every time… You will not find an exception to what I just said,” Chael Sonnen stated on his YouTube channel. Reiterating the possible implications of a size discrepancy, he further stated, “Size does matter [in] your first time up. And everybody has a number. But you seldomly in life get to find out what your number is… But it might not be. Maybe your number is up a little bit.”

Furthermore, Chael Sonnen also narrated the story about his teammate and UFC legend Dan Henderson and how he handled his weight class jumps. According to ‘The American Gangster’, the Hall of Famer knew “how to use a guy’s body against him.” Similarly, he mentioned how Ilia Topuria claims to have the best weight ever compared to his featherweight days. But despite the confidence, Sonnen predicts Charles Oliveira edging past the Georgian-Spanish star, and that too, with a knockout victory. After all, ‘Do Bronxs’ is the man with the most finishes and the bonuses that come with it.

“I’m listening to the interviews by Ilia, and my concern with Ilia’s interviews is only one thing, but he keeps talking about how much he’s enjoying 155lbs. He gave a metaphor. He compared it to living on the beach, as where he was talking about when he had to cut down to 145lbs, it was like living in the desert,” Chael Sonnen added. “I just think Charles is going to walk through that fire. I’m going to say that history is going to be shown to be wrong on Saturday. I’m taking Charles Oliveira by TKO.”

Well, Ilia Topuria may not be happy to hear that, but he’s got another problem to deal with ahead of his fight against Charles Oliveira. It appears that ‘El Matador’ hasn’t been able to get into the fight mode because of his feelings towards the Brazilian star. Here’s what he had to say.

Ilia Topuria doesn’t want to ‘hate’ Charles Oliveira

When Charles Oliveira initially declined a fight against Ilia Topuria, the former featherweight champion lashed out at the former lightweight champion, poking fun at the ten losses in his record. He even slammed the ex-155lbs champ for claiming that butting heads against him didn’t feel like a ‘big fight’. But ahead of their fight this weekend, ‘El Matador’s tune and perception of ‘Do Bronxs’ have changed. During their face-off, Topuria would double down on knocking out Oliveira in the first round, but he claimed that he wouldn’t have fought him if there was another way to win the lightweight title.

“I respect you, man… I just want to show I’m the best… You know I’ll beat you… I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to be with you,” Ilia Topuria told Charles Oliveira to his face. Then again, in a recent UFC: Embedded Vlog Series video, Topuria added. “It’s so tough to fight someone that you wanna hate him, but you can’t.” Well, do you think this hesitation will come into play during their fight this weekend.

With Dana White’s dream broadcast team of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, and commentators like Chael Sonnen, every second will be analyzed live. Topuria’s bold goal of being the first triple champion in UFC history shows how ambitious he is, just like McGregor and Jones. Oliveira’s unprecedented 20 finishes and 20 bonuses, on the other hand, remind viewers that experience and ring craft are frequently more important than excitement. When two previous champions face off, the story isn’t just about the past; it’s also about who makes history. Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will definitely give fans some fireworks, no matter who wins or loses.

It looks like this bout will be a barnburner because both competitors are good at finishing fights. But what do you think about the history of former champions fighting each other? Will Oliveira be able to break that curse? Please leave your comments below to let us know what you think.