The UFC solidified its UFC 316 card in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday. In the main event, Merab Dvalishvili had a rematch with Bantamweight Belt’s Sean O’Malley. In the co-main event, Juliana Pena defended the bantamweight title against Kela Harrison.
In the end, it was dvalishvili who defeated O’Malley again, but this time he submitted “Suga” to defend his bantamweight title. In the co-main event, Harrison submitted a pena to win the women’s bantamweight title. Following UFC 316, there is something I think should be next for the stars of the event.
Merab Stay
Merab Dvalishvili rematched Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 316, and was trying to defend his belt for the second time. Dvalishvili ruled O’Malley and was able to sink into the choke to win.
With the victory, Dvalishvili should now face Cory Sandhagen. Dana White thought Umar Nurmagomedov’s rematch should happen, but since Sandhagen makes the most sense, he must win first.
Sean O’Malley
Sean O’Malley struggles to get another crack against the champion, making it 0-2 against Dvalishvili. So his future is vague as he can even move to featherweight. O’Malley’s takedown defense is another matter and something he needs to tackle.
Following the loss, if O’Malley stays at the bantamweight level, the UFC will try to give “Suga” a winning battle. The logical next fight is to face lob fonts that could become the main cardfight in pay-per-view. It’s a fun, memorable battle and O’Malley would like it.
Kayla Harrison
Kayla Harrison became the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion on Saturday, giving her dominant performance against Juliana Pena. Harrison defeated Pena and managed to control her and submit it in the second round.
After her victory at UFC 316, Amanda Nunes came to the Octagon and faced off against Harrison. It’s probably the next battle that will happen later this year or early.
Juliana Pena
Julianna Pena lost her bantamweight title for the second time as she failed to defend her belt in either rule. Pena was ruled in the battle from start to finish, so you need to gather multiple victories to get another crack in the belt.
The logical next fight for Pena after UFC 316 is to face Norma Dumont, who closes out the title shot. Dumont hasn’t fought since September, but this could happen with Fight Night cards later this year.
