Saturday night’s return to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey for UFC 316 produced another memorable evening of action in “The Garden State.”
Kevin Holland opened the main card with a dynamic second-round submission win over Vicente Luque, followed by surging bantamweight Mario Bautista spoiling the promotional debut of Patchy Mix, out-working the former Bellator champion to secure his eighth consecutive victory before Joe Pyfer garnered a unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum to close out the non-title slate.
In the co-main event, Kayla Harrison completed her rise to the top of the women’s bantamweight division with a second-round submission win over two-time champ Julianna Peña. By claiming the title, Harrison joined Henry Cejudo as the only Olympic gold medalists to win UFC gold, and then wrapped up her incredible evening by welcoming Amanda Nunes into the Octagon, where the two agreed to face off later this year.
And in the main event, Merab Dvalishvili continued his dominance of the bantamweight division, steamrolling and submitting “Suga” Sean O’Malley in their rematch to retain his title. “The Machine” has now won 13 straight, continuing to make his case for being the best bantamweight of all-time with yet another phenomenal performance.
It was a thrilling collection of main card fights, capped by a pair of submission finishes in the tandem championship bouts, and we have all the details gathered for you below.
Prelim Results | Official Scorecards
Merab Dvalishvili is an absolute monster. “The Machine” pushed his winning streak to 13 straight to close out UFC 316, submitting Sean O'Malley in the late stages of the third round to add to his incredible run of success.
He controlled the opening two frames, getting the better of the striking exchanges while wrestling well and pushing a torrid pace. Late in the third, after Dvalishvili dragged O’Malley back to the canvas, he laced his arms around the neck, tightened his squeeze, and forced the former champion to tap.
That’s consecutive successful title defenses in the first half of 2025 for the 34-year-old Georgian champion. He’s won 13 straight overall and continues to improve each time out, transforming himself into an unstoppable force inside the Octagon.
Kayla Harrison is your new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist dominated Julianna Peña, putting her on the canvas in the first round and controlling her for the majority of the frame, with Peña losing a point after landing a pair of illegal upkicks while Harrison was grounded. In the second, Harrison worked her way inside and dragged to get to the canvas again, looking for an arm triangle choke along the fence before switching off to a kimura late in the round and forcing Pena to tap.
That’s three straight wins and a world title for Harrison, who joined Henry Cejudo as the only athletes to earn Olympic gold and a UFC title. The 34-year-old is without question one of the best combat athletes of all time, and she’ll get the opportunity to become immortal later this year in a showdown with returning former two-division world champion Amanda Nunes, who joined Harrison in the Octagon for a hug and a face-off following the contest.
Joe Pyfer scored the biggest win of his career in the final non-title fight on Saturday’s main card, defeating former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum.
The hulking middleweight put Gastelum on the canvas twice in the first round, dropping him with a powerful, looping right hand both times. Over the final two rounds, things tightened up, as Pyfer looked for one-shot kills, while Gastelum inched his way back into the fight, making things really tense heading to the scorecards.
When the scorecards were collected and totalled, it was Pyfer that came out ahead, earning a sweep of the scorecards. He’s now 5-1 inside the Octagon and continued showing steady development, putting himself another step closer to breaking into the Top 15.
Mario Bautista ran his winning streak to eight with an outstanding effort from start-to-finish against the debuting Patchy Mix.
The unheralded MMA Lab product got loose with his hands from the start, landing at will while switching his targets, taking advantage of Mix keeping his head on the center line and standing flat-footed. While Mix had a little more success in the second, Bautista still did well, and came out in the third taking the fight to the former Bellator champion, busting him up and asserting his dominance over the final five minutes.
This was a much-needed breakthrough win for Bautista, who won a debated decision over Jose Aldo last October, but has yet to garner serious attention in the loaded 135-pound ranks. Completely out-working the highly regarded newcomer Mix was the kind of win the 31-year-old needed to really establish himself as an ascending threat in the bantamweight division, and it could position him for another massive opportunity next time out.
Kevin Holland submitted Vicente Luque with his own favorite hold, collecting one of the biggest wins of his UFC career.
The hyper-active Holland got the better of the striking exchanges in the opening round, hurting Luque with an elbow in tight while jawing at him throughout the frame. Then in the second, Holland dumped Luque to the canvas, and as the Brazilian tried to wrestle up, the long-limbed Texas-based fighter dove on a D’arce choke, wrapping it up tight and securing the tap.
That’s consecutive wins for Holland after a loss at middleweight to start his 2025 campaign. This was an outstanding effort from the all-action entertainer, who is sure to make two or three more appearances before the year is out.
UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2 took place live from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 7, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
