UFC 316 will take place on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and has an impressive card ready to go.
Coming off the back of an entertaining UFC 315, the event in New Jersey already has a fantastic main event lined up.
The UFC 316 headliner features a rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley, with the American hoping to regain the UFC Bantamweight title.
Dvalishvili’s reign could end after just one title defense in a card full of some of the top fighters in the UFC.
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Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley
The rematch everyone is talking about at UFC 316 is the UFC Bantamweight title fight between champion Dvalishvili and the challenger O’Malley.
Dvalishvili won the title at UFC 306 by unanimous decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from O’Malley. He easily beat the former champion, ending “Suga’s” reign after just one successful defense.
O’Malley watched with interest as Dvalishvili beat Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, setting up this rematch at UFC 316.
With all of his wins bar one coming from a unanimous decision since 2018, “The Machine” will be expecting this fight to go the same way as the other, unless O’Malley can bring something he left out in the first fight.
Conor McGregor is backing Dvalishvili for the win, so he will have all the confidence going into the main event in New Jersey.
Julianna Pena vs Kayla Harrison
The co-main event of UFC 316 pits reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Julianna Pena defending against American judo expert Kayla Harrison.
Pena recently became a two-time champion by beating Raquel Pennington at UFC 307, her first bout since a 2022 loss to Amanda Nunes.
Harrison will have to avoid any more health issues if she wants to become the champion, as Pena will not want a repeat of her loss to Nunes in her first title defense.
However, Pena’s win over Pennington was unconvincing, and Harrison will have the confidence that she can become a world champion for the first time.
Vicente Luque vs Kevin Holland
Vicente Luque bounced back from a bad run of form to choke out Temba Gorimbo in his last fight and will hope to do the same to Kevin Holland at UFC 316.
While many thought Luque had passed his prime, he has a good chance to build on that win against Holland, who himself has lost 4 of his last 6 fights.
The 14th-ranked Luque has an eye on a future title fight, while a loss for Holland could spell an end to his future in the UFC.
Kelvin Gastelum vs Joe Pyfer
In a Welterweight clash, Kelvin Gastelum fights Joe Pyfer in a midcard fight at UFC 316.
The bout was originally slated to take place in March, but Pyfer was forced to pull out at the last minute due to illness.
Now that Pyfer is back to full health, Gastelum can hopefully start his career resurgence after his struggles in the octagon over the past few years.
Mario Bautista vs Patchy Mix
After Marlon Vera withdrew from his fight with Mario Bautista, one of the hottest free agents in MMA stepped in to save the UFC 316 bout.
Former Bellator Bantamweight champion Patchy Mix will fight Bautista in New Jersey, making his UFC debut in the highly anticipated fight.
The impressive American fighter, who has just 1 loss to his name in his career, has the possibility to become a huge star in the UFC.
However, the submission specialist will face a Bantamweight contender who has only tapped out once in his career, which should make for an impressive fight.
Prelims
Four fights have been announced for the prelims for UFC 316, including the rescheduled Flyweight contest between Bruno Silva and Joshua Van.
The bout was initially supposed to take place at UFC 313, but after Silva withdrew due to injury, the fight had to be rescheduled.
The other bouts are Brendson Ribiero vs Azamat Murzakanov, Serghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Khaos Williams vs Andreas Gustafsson
Early prelims
The four fights on the UFC 316 early prelims include the only women’s fight currently scheduled for the event.
As well as Ariane Da Silva vs Wang Cong, Jeka Saragih vs Joosang Yoo, MarQuell Mederos vs Mar Choinski and Quillan Salkilld vs Yanal Ashmouz will feature on the early prelim card, rounding out an impressive-looking event for UFC 316.