UFC 316 fight week is now in full swing with the last pay-per-view of the spring season just a few days away. Saturday night, the promotion’s June schedule begins with its first trip to Newark, NJ in more than a year. Dana White‘s promotion sets up shop this weekend at Prudential Center.
Live coverage of this event will commence at just past 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass (globally) and ESPN+ (United States) with the early prelims of UFC 316. Late prelims follow two hours later at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+.
The night caps off with a five-fight main card at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT. If you’re reading this from inside the United States of America, the main card on Saturday night can be seen exclusively through ESPN+ pay-per-view.
UFC 316 Main Event: UFC Bantamweight Championship: [C] Merab Dvalishvili vs. No. 1 Contender Sean O’Malley II
At the top of the bill on Saturday night, you’ll see a championship doubleheader to cap the main card of UFC 316. Both of these championship fights are an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round.
Your main event of the evening is a rematch for the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Incumbent titleholder Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) squares off against challenger and No. 1 contender Sean O’Malley (18-2, 1 NC MMA, 10-2, 1 NC UFC), nine months removed from their original clash in Noche UFC last September, won by the former (unanimous decision) after five rounds.
The champ will make the walk in UFC 316’s main event with a record of 5-0 in his last five fights. He’ll be defending the belt for the second time on Saturday evening.
Back on Jan. 18 in Inglewood, CA’s Intuit Dome, he made a successful defense of the strap via unanimous decision after 25 minutes of action over challenger Umar Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) during the co-main event of UFC 311.
As we’ve mentioned previously on this site, any time that a competitor is on a hot streak, the fighter’s intensity goes up a couple of notches. It’s even more dangerous when said fighter has a championship to defend. How will chapter two of this story play out for the defending champion?
Meanwhile, Sean O’Malley comes into UFC 316 on Saturday night sporting a 3-1 record with one no-contest over the course of his last five fights. Prior to the original fight vs. Merab Dvalishvili, he bested Marlon Vera (23-10-1 MMA, 15-9 UFC) by way of unanimous decision in March of last year during UFC 299.
The main event of the evening on Saturday night will be O’Malley’s first since losing the title to Dvalishvili late last summer. Revenge will be at the forefront of his mind this weekend. Can Sean O’Malley even the score at UFC 316?
UFC 316 Co-Main Event: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: [C] Julianna Pena vs. No. 2 Contender Kayla Harrison
Immediately beforehand, the co-main attraction is a battle for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship. Current titlist Julianna Pena (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defends the strap for the first time when she takes on challenger and No. 2 contender Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the latter’s third promotional appearance.
The champ comes into UFC 316 over the weekend having posted a record of 3-2 in her last five fights. Last time out, she scored a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington in UFC 307 on Oct. 5, 2024 in Salt Lake City to secure the 135-lb division’s belt.
This is the start of her second stint as the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, a tenure that was cut short by Amanda Nunes in a rematch for the title in the summer of 2022. Her opponent is a tough customer at the shop.
Across the way, Kayla Harrison has posted a 4-1 record over the course of her last five fights. Currently, she’s on a three-fight winning streak. Like Pena, Kayla Harrison also fought on UFC 307 in October.
That night, she defeated Ketlen Vieira (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) via unanimous decision to set up this title shot. The question was never one of when Kayla Harrison would compete for the title in the UFC, but rather one of how soon. Saturday night, the time has come.
UFC 316: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
Also on the UFC 316 main card, you’ll be treated to a middleweight fixture pairing Kelvin Gastelum (19-9, 1 NC MMA, 13-9, 1 NC) with Joe Pyfer (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC). This is a makegood of a cancelled fight from this past March after the latter competitor took ill on the day of the event.
The former enters UFC 316 with a mark of 2-3 in his last five appearances in MMA. Last June, he outpaced Daniel Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) after three rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He’s had close to a full year’s time away, so what kind of ring rust does he have ahead of UFC 316 this week?
In the other corner, Joe Pyfer, a 2022 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, has posted a 4-1 mark in his last five appearances in MMA. On June 29 of last year, he finished Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9, 1 NC MMA, 6-8, 1 NC UFC) in just 85 seconds with an overhand right to bag the $50,000 (USD) Performance of the Night Bonus at the post-fight press conference.
As previously mentioned, Joe Pyfer was scheduled to have met Kelvin Gastelum this past March when the UFC was in Mexico City for a UFC Fight Night but the bout was scrubbed in the final hours before the event was to have taken place after the former became unwell. While he’s been out of a fight under MMA rules since last summer, he’s kept himself busy by competing in a grappling match under the Fury Pro Grappling banner late last year.
Will he stay in the win column? Tune in and find out.
Final Thoughts
Which main card fight or fights are you looking forward to in UFC 316? Let us know in the comments.
