UFC 316: Full card, predictions, parlay, free tips and where to watch
Merab Dvalishvili smiles during the UFC 316 press conference
The UFC heads to Newark, New Jersey this Saturday night as Merab Dvalishvili defends his bantamweight championship against Sean O’Malley in the main event.
It’s been just over eight months since Dvalishvili took the title away from O’Malley following a convincing five-round win at UFC 306.
The 34-year-old has since successfully defended his crown against Umar Nurmagomedov back in January, picking up his fifth consecutive unanimous decision victory.
Dvalishvili is on a 12-fight winning streak and appears to be getting better with every visit to the UFC cage.
O’Malley has been given a shot at revenge, but while the American is the superior striker, his opponent’s ruthless attack makes it near impossible to set up significant strikes.
Dvalishvili is arguably the best wrestler in the business right now and it will take a truly remarkable effort from O’Malley to dethrone the current champion.
Elsewhere, Julianna Pena will be looking to keep hold of her bantamweight championship when she takes on Kayla Harrison in a tasty encounter.
Both fighters had a lot to say in the lead up to Saturday’s bout, which added some much-needed juice to an otherwise tame build-up.
Pena’s striking ability is questionable at best, but the Venezuelan does well to compensate for her weaknesses with a dangerous ground-attack, five-round cardio and a steel chin.
The champion will need all of those attributes and more as she takes on double Olympic gold-medallist.
Harrison may not have one-punch knockout power and has endured a rough weight-cut. However, the former PFL star will fancy her chances on the ground against an opponent who has been out-wrestled numerous times in the UFC.
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Over in the middleweight division, Kelvin Gastelum will be looking to secure his second successive win when he takes on Joe Pyfer.
Gastelum has shared the cage with some of the biggest names in the sport, yet he has never been knocked out in 29 pro fights.
Pyfer is out to raise his stock in the middleweight division and a win over Gastelum would certainly do that.
The 28-year-old looked somewhat one-dimensional in his defeat to Jack Hermansson back in February 2024 but returned to winning ways at UFC 303 with a knockout over Marc-Andre Barriault.
Speaking of raising stock, former Bellator man Patchy Mix will be looking to do just that as he makes his UFC debut against Mario Bautista.
Kevin Holland is also on the main card as the fearless 32-year-old battles Vicente Luque in the welterweight division.
UFC 316 best bets
Dvalishvili to beat O’Malley by decision – 8/13
Harrison to beat Pena – 1/8
Gastelum v Pyfer over 2.5 rounds – 4/5
Mix to beat Bautista – 4/7
Luque v Holland over 1.5 rounds – 20/33
Good luck and please gamble responsibly.
(All odds are correct at time of article publication)
UFC 316 full card
UFC Bantamweight Championship
Merab Dvalishvili v Sean O’Malley
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
Julianna Pena v Kayla Harrison
Middleweight bout
Kelvin Gastelum v Joe Pyfer
Bantamweight bout
Mario Bautista v Patchy Mix
Welterweight bout
Vicente Luque v Kevin Holland
Flyweight bout
Bruno Gustavo da Silva v Joshua Van
Light-heavyweight bout
Azamat Murzakanov v Brendson Ribeiro
Heavyweight bout
Serghei Spivac v Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Welterweight bout
Khaos Williams v Andreas Gustafsson
Catchweight bout (132lbs)
Ariane Lipski v Wang Cong
Featherweight bout
Jeka Saragih v Yoo Joo-sang
Lightweight bout
Quillan Salkilld v Yanal Ashmouz
Lightweight bout
MarQuel Mederos v Mark Choinski
Where to watch UFC 316
Fans in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the action on TNT Sports, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights.
Over in the Unites States, ESPN+ PPV will have live coverage of the event, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
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