UFC 315 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey.
The promotion was in Montreal last week, where the Bell Centre played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its fifth numbered event of the year. Of note were headline wins for Jack Della Maddalena and Valentina Shevchenko, as well as important victories for Aiemann Zahabi, Natália Silva and Benoît Saint Denis.
While the aftermath of the May 10 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the welterweight title picture to the bantamweight championship conversation.
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At UFC 316, set for the Prudential Center on June 7, Merab Dvalishvili will defend the UFC bantamweight championship against the very man he took the belt from, “Sugar” Sean O’Malley. After Dvalishvili won a decision to claim the gold when these two first met at Noche UFC 2 in September, he will look to show the win was not a mistake. O’Malley, who hasn’t fought since the loss, will be eyeing revenge and hoping to reclaim the gold.
Stakes will also be high in the co-headliner, as two-time women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña looks to make her first defense since winning it back at the expense of Raquel Pennington in 2024. She will be doing battle with Kayla Harrison, who will be looking to claim the gold and fulfill the hype set for her after coming over to the UFC from the PFL in January 2024.
Gastelum, Vera, Luque Set The Stage For Title Headliners At UFC 315
Before Dvalishvili and Peña make the walk to put their championships on the line, a number of notable names will take to the Octagon looking to make the most of their position on the major UFC 316 card.
That includes former interim middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Weeks before he and Israel Adesanya enter the UFC Hall of Fame for their memorable UFC 236 clash, Gastelum will face the up-and-coming Joe Pyfer. Gastelum will look to make it two wins in a row and three wins in his last four, while Pyfer will look to continue his rising momentum in his first fight since knocking out Marc-André Barriault at UFC 303.
Prior to that, another former title challenger will be in action, as Marlon “Chito” Vera is set for action against another bantamweight contender, Mario Bautista. Vera will be looking to get back to winning ways, having lost three of his last four. Last year, Vera came up short against former rival O’Malley in a 135-pound title fight and dropped a decision to Deiveson Figueiredo. Bautista, meanwhile, has won seven straight and will be fighting for the first time since his controversial UFC 307 win over Jose Aldo.
The main card is scheduled to open with a pair of exciting welterweights in Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland doing battle. Luque has won two of three, having most recently submitted Themba Gorimbo at UFC 310 in December. Holland is 2-2 in his last four, scoring a unanimous decision win over Gunnar Nelson at UFC London just a couple of months ago.
Those pairings have currently gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the likes of Johnny Walker and Bruno Silva, who are slated to feature on the prelims.
See below for the UFC 316 lineup, as it stands.
Main Card:
- Bantamweight Championship: Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs. Sean O’Malley
- Women’s Bantamweight Championship: Julianna Pena (C) vs. Kayla Harrison
- Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
- Bantamweight: Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista
- Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland
Preliminary Card (bout order TBA):
- Flyweight: Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van
- Women’s Flyweight: Ariane Da Silva vs. Wang Cong
- Light Heavyweight: Johnny Walker vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Heayvweight: Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Featherweight: Jeka Saragih vs. Yoo Joo-sang
- Welterweight: Khaos Williams vs. Uros Medic
