Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, is set for a rematch with former 135-pound kingpin, Sean O’Malley, at UFC 316 on Sat., June 7, 2025, inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
UFC CEO, Dana White, revealed the good news this evening via Instagram Live. That’s not all, though.
In UFC 316’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, women’s Bantamweight roost-ruler, Julianna Pena, will defend her title against the surging No. 2-ranked contender (and mortal enemy), Kayla Harrison.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images Dvalishvili and O’Malley first squared off at UFC 306 inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, costing White and Co. upward of $16 million in production costs. “The Machine” dominated “Sugar,” securing the 135-pound strap via unanimous decision.
Despite this ridiculous claim.
Four months later, Dvalishvili defended his title at UFC 311 against Umar Nurmagomedov, notching another dominant decision. Meanwhile, O’Malley remained inactive, bypassing any fights to “earn” another title shot.
“Dana White privilege,” baby.
For what it’s worth, the rainbow-haired fighter said he was injured ahead of UFC 306 (details here), which hindered his uninspired performance.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Pena regained the title she lost at UFC 277 in brutal fashion back in July 2022, defeating Raquel Pennington via super controversial split decision at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah (she also no-sold Harrison after winning the belt).
But, that won’t stop the former two-time Professional Fighters League (PFL) champion and Olympic judo gold medalist from chasing UFC gold. Harrison is perfect (2-0) in the promotion with wins over Holly Holm (watch highlights) and Ketlen Vieira.
Expect more UFC 316 matchups to drop in the coming weeks.
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.