The highly anticipated UFC 316 event has a new main event and co-main event! Merab Dvalishvili is set to face Sean O’Malley in a bantamweight title rematch, while Julianna Pena will defend her bantamweight championship against newcomer Kayla Harrison. The fights are scheduled for June 7th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
UFC CEO Dana White officially announced these exciting matchups on Tuesday.
Dvalishvili will be aiming for his second title defense at 135 pounds. His previous fight saw him dominate Umar Nurmagomedov over five rounds in January. Prior to that, Dvalishvili captured the bantamweight title by defeating O’Malley at UFC 306 in Las Vegas with an equally dominant performance.
Despite not competing since his loss to Dvalishvili, O’Malley gets an immediate opportunity to reclaim the title in this rematch scheduled for June.
In the co-main event, Julianna Pena returns to the octagon after a very close decision victory against Raquel Pennington, which earned her the title of two-time UFC bantamweight champion. Pena`s recent record is impressive, with three wins and one loss in her last four fights, including a significant victory over Amanda Nunes in 2021 that marked her first championship win.
Pena`s next challenge is Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic champion. Harrison, formerly a PFL champion, recently signed with the UFC and quickly secured two consecutive wins against Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira, earning her a shot at the UFC bantamweight title.
Harrison boasts a professional record of 18 wins and just 1 loss and will be looking to add the UFC championship to her accomplishments when she faces Pena in June.
