UFC 316 preview, start time, full fight card, how to watch, live stream as Merab Dvalishvili battles Sean O’Malley
Merab Dvalishvili will defend his UFC Bantamweight title for the second time with the hotly anticipated rematch with Sean O’Malley at UFC 316.
The world champion won the title at UFC 306, when Merab Dvalishvili beat Sean O’Malley with a unanimous decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dvalishvili did the same to Umar Nurmagomedov back in January before embarking on this rematch in New Jersey.
With Conor McGregor backing Dvalishvili, the Georgian will have all the confidence going into his second UFC Bantamweight title defense.
However, he’ll need to combat a man with a massive reach advantage if he wants to walk out of New Jersey still the champion.
Elsewhere, the co-main event of the card sees Julianna Pena battle Kayla Harrison for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight title.
Pena became a two-time champion in her first fight in two years when she beat Raquel Pennington at UFC 307, but will have a tough task against the American judo expert Harrison in New Jersey.
Here’s everything you need to know about what promises to be a fantastic night of MMA action at UFC 316.
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What time does UFC 316 start?
UFC 316 will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 7, 2025
The event is expected to start with the early preliminaries at 6:00 PM (ET), 3:00 PM (PT), and 11:00 PM (BST).
Then, the preliminaries at 8:00 PM (ET), 5:00 PM (PT), and 01:00 AM (BST).
Following on from that, the main card gets underway at 10:00 PM (ET), 7:00 PM (PT), and 03:00 AM (BST).
How to watch and live stream UFC 316?
In the US, the UFC 316 early prelims will be available to watch on the UFC Fight Pass from 6:00 PM (ET). The preliminaries can be watched on ESPN, while both the prelims and the main card will be able to be streamed through ESPN+. The PPV will cost viewers $79.99.
Over in the UK, fans will be able to watch the UFC 316 prelims through the UFC Fight Pass from 11:00 PM (BST) before switching over to TNT Sports for coverage of the main card from 01:00 AM (BST).
UFC 316 – Who’s fighting?
Main card
- Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley
- Women’s Bantamweight: Julianna Pena vs Kayla Harrison
- Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs Kevin Holland
- Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs Joe Pyfer
- Bantamweight: Marlon Vera vs Mario Bautista
- Flyweight: Bruno Silva vs Joshua Van
- Women’s Flyweight: Ariane Da Silva vs Wang Cong
- Light Heavyweight: Johnny Walker vs Azamat Murzakanov
More fights will be added to the main card and the prelims as we move closer to UFC 316.
Sean O’Malley admits he forced his dislike of Merab Dvalishvili before their first fight
While some UFC fighters do genuinely hate each other before their face-off in the octagon, the on-screen feud between O’Malley and Dvalishvili wasn’t real.
O’Malley admitted as much in an interview with Ariel Helwani ahead of their UFC 316 rematch, actually claiming he’s grown to like his opponent over the months since their clash.
O’Malley said: “I feel like the first Merab fight, I wanted to not like him because as a fan I enjoy when two fighters don’t necessarily like each other and there’s beef there, I enjoy that.
“So I felt like I wanted to create that, and it wasn’t very authentic because I like Merab. I met him a few times, he’s a nice guy, it’s nothing. He’s on his path doing his own thing so I don’t know if that affected his performance or what, but I don’t mind Merab.”
O’Malley will attempt to regain the UFC Bantamweight title from Dvalishvili at UFC 316.
