Philippines, 16 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


UFC® RETURNS TO PRUDENTIAL CENTER IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY WITH BLOCKBUSER CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLEHEADER

PhilBoxing.com





FEATURED BOUTS:
(C) MERAB DVALISHVILI vs. (#1) SEAN O’MALLEY
(C) JULIANNA PENA vs. (#2) KAYLA HARRISON

UFC® 316: DVALISHVILI vs. O’MALLEY 2
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, APRIL 18

Las Vegas – UFC® returns to Newark, N.J. with another stacked card, headlined by a pair of blockbuster championship bouts. In the main event, reigning bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili rematches with former title holder and No. 1 ranked contender Sean O’Malley. The co-main event will see women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena defend her newly won belt against No. 2 ranked Kayla Harrison.

UFC® 316: DVALISHVILI vs. O’MALLEY 2 takes place Saturday, June 7 at Prudential Center, with the main card available on ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The prelims will be available on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, as well as simulcast in English and Spanish on ESPN+, at 8p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The early prelims will kick off at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.

UFC® returns to Prudential Center after setting the venue’s live sporting event gate record in 2024 with UFC® 302 headlined by Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier. UFC® 316: DVALISHVILI vs. O’MALLEY 2 will mark the eleventh UFC event at the famed arena dating back to 2007.

UFC® 316: DVALISHVILI vs. O’MALLEY 2 will go on sale this Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m. ET and are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

“NJSEA, the city of Newark and Prudential Center continue to be great partners to us,” said Peter Dropick, Executive Vice President of Event Development and Operations, UFC. “Makhachev vs. Poirier was one of our top fights last year and set the gate record at this famed arena. We’re thrilled to be returning for the third year in a row. I know UFC 316 will be another special night.”

“New Jersey is proud to be a premium entertainment destination for visitors across the country and world,” said Governor Phil Murphy. "We are excited to welcome the UFC back to Newark, bringing an incredible experience to thousands of fans while also generating economic activity for the region.”

“Hosting UFC in Newark for the third year in a row shows that our city rises to the same level of excitement as the event’s electrifying fight card,” said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “It is an honor to be selected and to welcome fans from all across the globe to deliver the perfect one-two-punch of hospitality and entertainment.”

“For the third consecutive year, Prudential Center is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to welcome our partners at UFC back to Newark,” said Tad Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. “UFC 316 promises to be another record-breaking night as Prudential Center continues to deliver as a destination for marquee events. We look forward to hosting fans from all over the world for the next unforgettable night in New Jersey’s rich combat sports history.”

Dvalishvili (19-4, fighting out of Long Island, N.Y. by way of Tbilisi, Georgia) looks to leave no doubt that he is the best bantamweight on the planet. The first Georgian-born champion in UFC history, Dvalishvili is currently on an 11-fight win streak, the longest in UFC bantamweight history, which includes victories over Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Henry Cejudo. He now intends to further etch his name into the record books with another dominant performance.

Former champion O’Malley (18-2, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.) makes his return to the Octagon for the first time since dropping the title to Dvalishvili last September. An elite and exciting striker with the most post-fight bonuses in UFC bantamweight history (9), he has entertained fans with finishes of Aljamain Sterling, Raulian Paiva and Kris Moutinho. O’Malley now plans to regain UFC gold by taking out Dvalishvili with a vintage showing.

Pena (12-5, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) seeks to make her second reign as bantamweight champion a historic one. The first woman to win The Ultimate Fighter, Pena holds notable wins over former UFC champions Amanda Nunes, Raquel Pennington and Nicco Montano. She now looks to make her biggest statement yet by handing Harrison her first loss in the UFC.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo for the United States, Harrison (18-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) has her sights set on adding UFC gold to her impressive resume. In her short time as part of the UFC roster, Harrison has already earned impressive wins over former champion Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira. She now intends to start off her 2025 campaign with a title-winning effort.

Current bouts also on the card include:

• No. 7 ranked bantamweight contender Marlon Vera (23-10-1, fighting out of Chone, Manabi, Ecuador) looks to halt the momentum of No. 10 Mario Bautista (15-2, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Thrilling welterweight actions pits No. 14 ranked contender Vicente Luque (23-10-1, fighting out of Brasilia, Brazil) against Kevin Holland (27-13, 1NC, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas)
• An exciting flyweight bout pits No. 12 ranked contender Bruno Silva (14-6-2 1NC, fighting out of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil) against No. 14 Joshua Van (14-2, fighting out of Houston, Texas)
• Light heavyweight action sees No. 10 ranked contender Johnny Walker (21-9 1NC, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland by way of Rio das Ostras, Brazil) take on undefeated No. 12 ranked Azamat Murzakanov (14-0, fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. by way of Nalchik, Russia)
• No. 14 ranked flyweight contender Ariane da Silva (17-10, fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) aims to defend her spot in the rankings against Wang Cong (7-1, fighting out of Shanghai, China)

For the latest information on bout announcements and additional information for this event, please visit UFC.com. All bouts are subject to change. Please click here to apply for the event.




Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.