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Brett Okamoto
A bantamweight title rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley will headline UFC 316 on June 7, UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday.
Dvalishvili (19-4) claimed the UFC championship by defeating O’Malley (18-2) via unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September. O’Malley immediately underwent hip surgery in October, and this will be his first appearance since the loss. UFC 316 will take place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Additionally, the UFC 316 pay-per-view event will feature a women’s bantamweight title fight between Julianna Peña (11-5) and Kayla Harrison (18-1).
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and now fighting out of Las Vegas, Dvalishvili is riding a 12-fight win streak. He has defended his 135-pound title once, in a five-round decision against Umar Nurmagomedov in January. His recent wins include victories over former champions in O’Malley, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and José Aldo.
O’Malley’s loss to Dvalishvili was his first since 2020. The 30-year-old bantamweight defended his title once before surrendering it to Dvalishvili, in a decision win against Marlon Vera.
Peña recaptured the belt in a split-decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 in October. Harrison fought on the same card, scoring a unanimous decision over Ketlen Viera.
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