One of the UFC’s biggest stars is reportedly set to get a chance to regain his championship at UFC 316. According to MMA content creator and insider Kevin K, the UFC 316 main event will see men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili defend his title against former champion Sean O’Malley in a rematch of their September 2024 meeting at Noche UFC.
Behind dominant wrestling and pressure, Dvalishvili won the first meeting by unanimous decision to dethrone O’Malley. Since winning the title, Dvalishvili successfully defended it in January against Umar Nurmagomedov, while O’Malley has been out recovering from hip surgery.
The UFC hasn’t confirmed this matchup, but it originally leaked on March 17, no one has refuted the report. Also, the June 7 pay-per-view at the Prudential Center in Newark would seemingly be a sensible spot for what will be one of the biggest title fights in 2025.
The likely co-main event will see Julianna Peña defend her women’s bantamweight title against former PFL women’s featherweight champion and Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
Peña dethroned Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 in October 2024. On the same card, Harrison knocked off Ketlen Vieira to set herself up for the championship opportunity.
As of now, here are the five fights we know about for UFC 316:
- (c) Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley – UFC Men’s Bantamweight Championship
- (c) Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison – UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
- Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista
- Johnny Walker vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van
At least three of those fights are likely headed to the main card. As we move through the next few weeks, more fights will be added to the card. As soon as this weekend, the UFC 316 main event could be confirmed by the UFC.
As of now, there are only two events happening between March 29 and June 7 that don’t have confirmed main events: UFC 316 and the UFC Fight Night card at the Apex on May 17. Both of those spots should be filled soon.
Up Next – UFC Fight Night: Mexico City on March 29
While not a pay-per-view card, the UFC Mexico City card qualifies as a premium Fight Night event in my book. Former champion Brandon Moreno takes on former title challenger Steve Erceg in the main event.
That fight could win a bonus, but there are others that could as well. Kelvin Gastelum just had his fight with Israel Adesanya inducted into the Hall of Fame, and he’s officially done competing at welterweight.
He’ll battle KO artist Joe Pyfer in a fight that could end with a thud. There are several other potential gems on the card. Here it is in its entirety:
- Brandon Moreno vs. Steve Erceg – Men’s Flyweight
- Manuel Torres vs. Drew Dober – Lightweight
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer – Middleweight
- Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Vince Morales – Bantamweight
- David Martinez vs. Saimon Oliveira – Bantamweight
- Ronaldo Rodríguez vs. Kevin Borjas – Flyweight
- Edgar Cháirez vs. CJ Vergara – Flyweight
- Ateba Gautier vs. José Medina – Middleweight
- Melquizael Costa vs. Christian Rodriguez – Featherweight
- Julia Polastri vs. Lupita Godinez – Strawweight
- Rafa García vs. Vinc Pichel – Lightweight
- Jamall Emmers vs. Gabriel Miranda – Featherweight
- Austin Hubbard vs. MarQuel Mederos – Lightweight
Be on the lookout for more as we move closer to Saturday.
