UFC had a big weekend.
WWE wasn’t the only big show in town as UFC held their latest pay-per-view that had two championship matches. In the main event, Sean O’Malley got a chance to win back the UFC Bantamweight title. Unfortunately for O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili is a tank and there was not one moment where it felt as if his title reign was in jeopardy during Saturday’s fight.
This wasn’t a total squash as O’Malley showcased some nice takedown defense and was aggressive early, but Merab was in top form by wearing down the former champ and overwhelming O’Malley in the third round. Dvalishvili was finally able to get the win was a nasty north-south choke.
Kayla Harrison finally cemented herself as the queen of the bantamweights in the co-main event. Harrison destroyed Julianna Pena, staying on top of the former champion from the beginning.
Pena was able to fend off Harrison here and there, but the newly crowned women's bantamweight champion wisely closed the distance and dominated with some ground and pound. Once Harrison wore the former champ down, she applied a kimura and got the victory.
Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison is now official, though a date is still being determined. Nevertheless, this is the first UFC title reign for Kayla Harrison. Her record now stands at 19 wins and 1 loss.
Check out the full results for UFC 316:
Main Card
Bantamweight championship: Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley via submission (north-south choke) at 4:42 of R3
Women's bantamweight championship: Kayla Harrison def. Julianna Peña via submission (kimura) at 4:55 of R2
Middleweight: Joe Pyfer def. Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Mario Bautista def. Patchy Mix via unanimous decision
Welterweight: Kevin Holland def. Vicente Luque via submission (D'arce choke) at 1:03 of R2
Prelims
Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Bruno Silva via TKO (strikes) at 4:01 of R3
Light heavyweight: Azamat Murzakanov def. Brendson Ribeiro via TKO (punches) at 3:25 of R1
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision
Welterweight: Andreas Gustafsson def. Khaos Williams via unanimous decision
Early prelims
132-pound catchweight: Wang Cong def. Ariane da Silva via unanimous decision
Featherweight: JooSang Yoo def. Jeka Saragih via KO (punch) at 0:28 of R1
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld def. Yanal Ashmouz via unanimous decision
Lightweight: MarQuel Mederos def. Mark Choinski via unanimous decision