Merab Dvalishvili is set to make the second defense of his bantamweight championship when the UFC 316 comes to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 7. Standing across the Octagon that night will be Sean O’Malley, the man Dvalishvili defeated in September 2024 to win the title.
Dvalishvili’s win in their first meeting derailed the hype train behind O’Malley, who the promotion had treated as a potential mega-star for the future. Instead of rolling to his second successful title defense, O’Malley was outwrestled for much of the fight and a late charge was not enough to steal the win from Dvalishvili.
While Dvalishvili has made one successful defense of the belt since the first meeting, taking a decision over Umar Nurmagomedov, O’Malley has not fought since losing the title.
There is a second championship fight set for UFC 316, with Julianna Pena defending the women’s bantamweight championship against Kayla Harrison. Harrison is a roughly -600 favorite to become champion, which would add a UFC title to accolades such as two Olympic gold medals in Judo and two PFL championships.
UFC 316 fight card, odds
- Merab Dvalishvili (c) -325 vs. Sean O’Malley +260, bantamweight title
- Kayla Harrison -600 vs. Julianna Pena (c) +440, women’s bantamweight title
- Joe Pyfer -410 vs. Kelvin Gastelum +320, middleweights
- Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix, bantamweights
- Kevin Holland -180 vs. Vicente Luque +150, welterweights
- Bruno Gustavo da Silva vs. Joshua Van, flyweights
- Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong, women’s flyweights
- Jeka Saragih vs. Yoo Joo-sang, featherweights
- Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz, lightweights
Where to watch UFC 316
- Date: June 7 | Location: Prudential Center — Newark, New Jersey
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
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