Written by Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
The UFC 316 main card is official.
In just four weeks, the UFC returns to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ for UFC 316, with another pair of title fights for its latest pay-per-view card. In the main event, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili puts his belt on the line in a rematch with the man he took the title from, Sean O’Malley. “Suga” has not fought since losing the title to Dvalishvili but is nonetheless getting a crack at the champion, who made his first successful title defense in January, winning a unanimous decision over Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
In the co-main event, women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña puts her recently reclaimed title on the line against former two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison. Peña won the title with a split decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307, while Harrison is 2-0 in the UFC and coming off a unanimous decision win over Ketlen Vieira on the same card. The winner is expected to welcome women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes back to the cage after a two-year retirement.
Also on the main card, middleweight standout Kelvin Gastelum squares off with rising prospect Joe Pyfer in the feature bout of the evening, and former bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera takes on fellow Top 10-ranked fighter Mario Bautista. A welterweight scrap between Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland opens the main card.
UFC 316 takes place on June 7, with the main card airing live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.