Sean O’Malley looks to reclaim the UFC men’s bantamweight championship when he takes on titleholder Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV, with prelims at 8 on ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+ and early prelims at 6 p.m. on ESPN+/Disney+).
O’Malley, ranked No. 2 in ESPN’s divisional rankings, held the title from August 2023 to September 2024, when he lost to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision. This is O’Malley’s first fight since the loss. Dvalishvili, ESPN’s No. 4-ranked men’s pound-for-pound fighter, beat Umar Numagomedov by unanimous decision in his last fight.
In the co-main event, Julianna Peña puts her women’s bantamweight title on the line against Kayla Harrison. Peña, ranked No. 7 in ESPN’s women’s P4P rankings, narrowly beat Raquel Pennington by split decision to claim the title. This is Peña’s second title run. Harrison, ESPN’s No. 4-ranked women’s P4P fighter, enters the fight following a unanimous decision win over Ketlen Vieira. Harrison is a former two-time PFL champion.
Brett Okamoto spoke to former UFC fighters Din Thomas and Anthony Smith to get their main event predictions. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds insight and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets he likes on the card.
