Dvalishvili-O'Malley 2, Pena-Harrison Announced for UFC 316 in New Jersey

UFC 316 will feature a pair of title bouts at the top of the bill.

In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight crown in a rematch against Sean O'Malley, while Julianna Pena will square off against Kayla Harrison in a women’s 135-pound title tilt in the evening’s co-headliner. UFC CEO Dana White announced the bouts on Tuesday. UFC 316 takes place on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+.

Dvalishvili will take a 12-fight winning streak into his rematch against O’Malley. “The Machine” claimed bantamweight gold with a lopsided unanimous decision win over O’Malley at UFC 306 this past September. The Georgian wrestler then made a successful defense of the belt at UFC 311, where he took a five-round verdict over the previously undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.

O’Malley will be competing for the first time since relinquishing the bantamweight strap to Dvalishvili. “Suga” underwent hip surgery after the bout and has been on the mend in recent months. The Dana White's Contender Series alum is 10-2 with one no contest during his UFC tenure and owns notable triumphs over the likes of Marlon Vera, Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan.

The 35-year-old Pena began a second reign as women’s bantamweight queen when she defeated Raquel Pennington via split decision at UFC 307 this past October. “The Venezuelan Vixen” shocked the world with a second-round submission of Amanda Nunes to initially capture the 135-pound belt at UFC 269 in December 2021. However, Pena suffered a clear-cut decision loss to Nunes in their rematch at UFC 277. The Sikjitsu product didn’t return until more than two years later, when she bested Pennington in their aforementioned championship clash.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time Professional Fighters League champion, Harrison has been victorious in 18 of 19 professional appearances. She submitted ex-bantamweight title holder Holly Holm in her Octagon debut and followed that performance with a unanimous decision win against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.

NEWS FROM THE BOSS 🚨@MerabDvalishvil vs @SugaSeanMMA and @VenezuelanVixen vs @KaylaH is LIVE June 7th from @PruCenter, New Jersey!

[ #UFC316 | @Visit_NJ ] pic.twitter.com/oozWoRiJQq

— UFC (@ufc) April 1, 2025