A new fight has been added to the UFC 316 card set for this Saturday.
UFC officials announced on Monday a lightweight preliminary bout scheduled for the event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. MarQuel Mederos (10-1) is booked to face newcomer Mark Choinski (8-0).
Mederos was originally set to compete last Saturday at UFC Vegas 107 against Bolaji Oki but pulled out due to illness. Oki then fought and defeated short-notice opponent Michael Aswell. While the specific nature of Mederos` illness is unknown, his swift booking suggests he is fit to return. He aims to improve his 2-0 UFC record, which includes decision wins over Austin Hubbard and Landon Quinones.
Choinski brings an undefeated professional record of 8-0 into his UFC debut. His most recent appearance was under the Anthony Pettis FC banner, where he secured a submission victory over John Ramirez. He was removed from a planned APFC fight on June 15th to accept this opportunity.
The UFC 316 card is headlined by a highly anticipated men`s bantamweight championship rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and champion Sean O’Malley. The co-main event features two-time women`s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña defending her belt against PFL standout Kayla Harrison.
Updated Fight Card:
Main Card (ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET)
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley
- Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
- Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix
- Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland
Preliminaries (ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET)
- Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van
- Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson
Early Prelims (ESPN+, Disney+ at 6 p.m. ET)
- Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong
- Jeka Saragih vs. Joo Sang Yoo
- Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz
- MarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski
