Sean O'Malley will have the chance to get UFC gold back around his waist when he rematches Merab Dvalishvili in the UFC 316 main event.
After dropping the bantamweight belt by unanimous decision to Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) last September at UFC 306, O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will get an immediate rematch in the headlining act of the June 7 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the news Tuesday on Instagram Live as part of a series of UFC 316 matchups.
Dvalishvili, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, will continue his promise to be an active champion. He turned around just four months after capturing gold to defeat the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January, and now he will look to add a second defense to his resume while adding to his 11-fight unbeaten streak inside the octagon.
No. 2-ranked O'Malley, for his part, can join Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw as the only fighters with two separate title reigns at 135 pounds. "Suga" won the title in August 2023 from Aljamain Sterling then went on to avenge his only previous loss against Marlon Vera in his first defense.
Now O'Malley has a chance to avenge his only other loss to Dvalishvili and show his performance at UFC 306 was not his best. After the defeat, O'Malley underwent hip surgery, which he claimed hindered his training camp.
The latest lineup for UFC 316 now includes:
- Champ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley – for bantamweight title
- Champ Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison – for women's bantamweight title
- Champ Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France – for flyweight title
- Mario Bautista vs. Marlon Vera
- Shamil Gaziev vs. Serghei Spivac
- Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van
- Azamat Murzakanov vs. Johnny ...
