Ilia Topuria makes UFC 317 prediction, talks potential Paddy Pimblett bout. Zohran Mamdani wins New York City Democratic mayoral primary.

Mixed Martial Arts

Charles Oliveira is confident heading into UFC 317 on June 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, NV for the UFC Lightweight championship against Ilia Topuria.

“In reality everyone knows what’s going to happen. He’s another dude that’s talking that’s going to fold in front of me.”

Ilia Topuria plans on following Islam Makhachev to Welterweight should both of them be victorious in their next fight – Topuria at UFC 317 and Makhachev in obtaining the UFC Welterweight championship from champion Jack Della Maddalena; Topuria says he’d want to fight Makhachev for a Pound-For-Pound belt. Topuria also says he’d have no issue fighting again before year end. 

When comparing Charles Oliveira to Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Ilia Topuria ranks Oliveira at No. 3. with Volkanovski at No. 1 and Holloway at No. 2.

Ilia Topuria makes his prediction heading into UFC 317.

“He won’t find a way to move forward. He’ll back up, take a couple punches to the face, attempt a takedown and pretty soon you’ll see the finish.”

Ilia Topuria has made it clear he wants to fight Paddy Pimblett should he [Topuria] be victorious at UFC 317 and says it could easily be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Topuria suggests that if Pimblett wants to secure the title fight, he should fight Justin Gaethje as Gaethje would be the easier opponent as opposed to Arman Tsarukyan – Topuria believes Tsarukyan would defeat Pimblett. 

Dustin Poirier doesn’t think Ilia Topuria will be scared of Charles Oliveira on the ground – also suggests Oliveira to fight Topuria the same way he fought him. Nonetheless, Poirier is picking Ilia Topuria to win at UFC 317. 

“I think Ilia, if he does sit Charles down, he's going to follow him, get into his guard. We've seen Charles when guys go into his guard and play jiu-jitsu with him and aren't afraid of that, he starts breaking a little bit, I think. But we'll see which Charles shows up. I think Charles needs to fight Ilia the same way he fought me. He was all the way in, or he was all the way out. He cannot play the boxing, pocket game. He needs to be clinching. He doesn't need to be exchanging shots in the pocket with a shorter guy who can crack.”

Islam Makhachev says he wanted to hold his UFC title at Lightweight and become a simultaneous two-division champion as he moved up to Welterweight but it wasn’t possible because it would be unfair to hold up the Lightweight division. 

Diego Lopes vs Jean Silva is announced as the main event for Noche UFC on September 13, 2025 in San Antonio, TX. 

Kevin Holland vs Daniel Doriguez is set for UFC 318 on July 19, 2025 in New Orleans, LA. 

Boxing

It’s rumoured that Jake Paul will be ranked by the WBC and WBA should he be victorious over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 28, 2025 in Anaheim, CA. This would begin a legitimate potential run for a world championship in the following years. 

Culture

Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim of South Asian descent has made headlines by defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. If he wins the general election in November, Mamdani will be the first Muslim and Indian-origin mayor in the city's history. Celebrating his victory, Mamdani quoted Nelson Mandela and thanked his supporters. Cuomo, acknowledging his loss, praised Mamdani’s campaign for energizing young voters. Analysts see Mamdani’s rise as a sign of shifting dynamics within the Democratic Party, especially in the wake of its 2024 election setbacks.

"It always seems impossible until it is done."

On Tuesday, the majority of House Democrats joined all present House Republicans in voting down an effort to launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. The effort, led by Representative Al Green and supported by some progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was in response to Trump’s unauthorized strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. While many Democrats criticized the lack of congressional oversight, most avoided fully condemning the strikes or supporting impeachment. 128 Democrats sided with the Republicans to defeat the impeachment inquiry; final vote was 344-79.

NATO leaders at 2025 The Hague summit in the Netherlands. 

Prosecutors in the case against Sean 'Diddy' Combs have dropped attempted arson and attempted kidnapping from the racketeering conspiracy charge in his indictment. They informed the judge that they no longer plan to pursue these specific theories, so related jury instructions are unnecessary. The broader indictment still accuses Combs of a range of serious crimes including sex trafficking, bribery, forced labor, and drug-related offenses. Attorneys are meeting with the judge to finalize jury instructions for the remaining charges.

PewDiePie has dropped out of YouTube’s top 10 most-subscribed channels for the first time in 12 years.

Aaron Sorkin is returning to write and direct a follow-up to his 2010 film ‘The Social Network’, though it won’t be a direct sequel. The new movie will centre on the Wall Street Journal’s 2021 ‘Facebook Files’ investigation which revealed internal issues at the social media giant. The original film was a critical and commercial success, earning $226M globally and winning three Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Sorkin.