UFC 316 Results: Winners And Losers Dvalishvili Vs. O'Malley 2 Card

Forbes

4 hours ago

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia and Sean O'Malley face ... More off during the UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
The UFC is at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey for tonight's UFC 316 pay-per-view fight card. UFC 316 features two title fights at the top of the card. In the headlining bout, Merab Dvalishvili puts his bantamweight title on the line against the man he defeated for that belt in September 2024, Sean O'Malley. Meanwhile, in the UFC 316 co-main event, women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena faces former PFL lightweight titleholder Kayla Harrison. UFC 316 results, winners and losers and more will be updated live throughout tonight's UFC pay-per-view card.
The main card for UFC 316 streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley - Men's bantamweight title fight
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison - Women's bantamweight title fight
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer - Middleweight
Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix - Bantamweight
Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland - Welterweight
Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van - Flyweight
Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribeiro - Light Heavyweight
Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta - Heavyweight
Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson - Welterweight
Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong - Catchweight (132 Pounds)
Jeka Saragih vs. Yoo Joo-sang - Featherweight
Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz - Lightweight
MarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski - Lightweight
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia is interviewed by Joe Rogan during the ... More UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
Merab Dvalishvili (19-4), a long-time training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling stepped into the spotlight of the promotion's 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision winover then-champion Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 306.
The 33-year-old Dvalishvili joined the UFC in 2017 as much-hyped prospect. At the time, Dvalishvili was 7-2 and had won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight crown.
Dvalishvili did not have a smooth start to his UFC run, losing his first two fights. Falling to Frankie Saenz by decision, and the second, to Ricky Simon, via submission. In September 2018, things clicked in place for the Serra-Longo Fight Team product, and he has not lost since.
Heading into UFC 306, Dvalishvili was on a 10-fight winning streak. Prior to his matchup against O'Malley, Dvalishvili had defeated Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. The win over O'Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight. Dvalishvili extended that streak to 12 when he defended his title with a unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: Sean O'Malley is interviewed by Joe Rogan during the UFC 316 ... More ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
Sean O'Malley (18-2-0-1) was 7-0 with six finishes when he got the chance to fight for a UFC contract on the first season of Dana White's Contender Series back in 2017. O'Malley, scored a first-round knockout, and a UFC contract that night.
He went 4-0 in his first bouts with the promotion, picking up three fight-night bonus awards for his efforts, including a brutal one-punch KO win over UFC veteran Eddie Wineland at UFC 250.
The win over Wineland put O'Malley at No. 14 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and got him a fight against Marlon 'Chito' Vera. Vera won that fight by TKO, handing O'Malley the only defeat on his record.
The loss to Vera knocked O'Malley out of the rankings, but he bounced back in his next fight, knocking out Thomas Almeida and earning another fight-night bonus in the process. He followed that win with a TKO win over Kris Moutinho.
Despite those back-to-back wins, O'Malley remained unranked when he next stepped into the Octagon for a December 2021 matchup against Raulian Paiva. O'Malley wrapped that fight up with a knockout at the 4:42 mark of the first round. That victory put O'Malley back in the rankings.
O'Malley's next bout ended in a no contest, when an eye poke in the second round left Pedro Munhoz unable to continue.
Then, in October 2022, O'Malley was matched up with former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. He entered that contest as the +230 underdog to the -275 ex-champ. The pair went the three-round distance, with O'Malley getting the split decision nod. That victory set up O'Malley to face Sterling in August 2023.
O'Malley has not fought since his loss to Dvalishvili. He is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia and Sean O'Malley face ... More off during the UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
When the betting odds opened for UFC 316, the defending champ was a -325 betting favorite over the former champ. Today, Dvalishvili is listed at -275, while O'Malley comes in at +225. O'Malley has picked up 93 percent of the bets and 91 percent of the handle.
Yes, O'Malley has the striking to catch Dvalishvili and turn out his lights, but let's remember, in their first meeting, O'Malley only managed to throw 89 significant strikes. In his win over Vera, O'Malley attempted a whopping 356 significant strikes. The difference between Dvalishvili and Vera was pressure. Vera was happy to stand with O'Malley, while Dvalishvili used his chain wrestling and forward pressure to put his opponent on the back foot and keep him there for almost the entire 25 minutes of that meeting, landing six takedowns on 15 attempts and racking up 10:03 of control time.
Simply put, I don't think O'Malley and his team can put together a game plan that will allow the former champ to avoid the pressure of the current champ while also accumulating enough damage to sway the judges in O'Malley's favor.
The betting pick is for Dvalishvili to grind out a decision win. For those looking for value on an upset, the pick is O'Malley via knockout, but be sure to place that wager in an amount you're willing to lose.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison face off during the ... More UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
When the betting odds opened for the UFC 316 co-main event, Pena was a +500 underdog to the -700 Harrison. Today, Harrison is the -750 favorite over the champ, who is the +525 betting underdog.
Pena has earned 89 percent of the bets, while 63 percent of the money is on Harrison.
Pena is a tough fighter, and that toughness will be tested on Saturday when she faces Harrison at UFC 316. The concern on the Harrison side of the equation is her ability to make 135 pounds and rehydrate and recover. The weight cut will be tough, there's no doubt about that, but Harrison has been a high-level athlete for a long while, and she knows her body and how far she can push herself. That's a plus in this matchup; it could also mean that she will pace herself against Pena so that she does not overextend herself and run out of gas.
Harrison is the better athlete and has more routes to victory than Pena. The betting pick is a Harrison win, either by late submission or decision. With the odds being what they are, the value pick is Pena to win via upset, but that's a wager that one should be careful in making.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Pyfer face off during the UFC ... More 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
The odds have held on this matchup with Gastelum at +310 and Pyfer at -400. Bettors are siding with the veteran. Gastelum has 75 percent of the bets and 63 percent of the handle.
Gastelum has one of the best chins in the business, and if Pyfer gets too aggressive and thinks he will be able to put his opponent away based on his power, things might get tricky for the younger fighter. Pyfer's best bet is not to chase the knockout here but to use his power to rack up damage while being sound defensively. The betting pick is for Joe Pyfer to beat Kelvin Gastelum by decision. However, for those who do not have faith in Pyfer's fight IQ, a Gastelum upset win via decision is a value betting pick to think about.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Mario Bautista and Patchy Mix face off during the UFC ... More 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
Mix enters UFC 316 coming off a long layoff. His last bout took place in May 2024 when he went five rounds in beating Magomed Magomedov in defense of his Bellator bantamweight belt. When you combine that layoff with the fact that Mix is taking this fight on short notice, there is some room for concern when it comes to Mix's fitness level. However, Mix and his team know how important this fight is to his career and future UFC prospects, so I believe he will be ready for his Octagon debut.
I expect Bautista to move forward and to look to overwhelm Mix with striking. However, that pressure could allow Mix to implement his game plan of getting the fight to mat and working his ground skills (Mix has 13 submission wins).
The betting pick is for Mix to win via decision, with a chance of picking up a submission.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 06: (L-R) Opponents Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland face off during the ... More UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-in at Prudential Center on June 06, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
When the lines opened on this contest, Holland was a -200 favorite over the +165 Luque. The betting line has moved on this one. Today, Holland is -275 to Luque's +220.
Luque has earned 73 percent of the bets, while Holland has picked up 61 percent of the handle.
Holland is a talented fighter, but the problem with Holland is his consistency. At points, it seems as if Holland is more interested in booking fights and earning a paycheck than he is interested in being competitive in those bouts. And while Luque has had his ups and downs, he seems to take his career more seriously than Holland.
Holland has an advantage in height and reach in this bout, and if he can use those strengths, he has a good chance of picking up the win. However, Luque is effective in spots where Holland struggles, mainly in takedown defense.
The betting pick in this bout is to go where there is value, and that is Luque to use his wrestling to grind out a decision win over Holland.
UFC 316 results, winners and losers and more will be updated live throughout tonight's pay-per-view card.