The pair of title fights at the top of the UFC 316 lineup are naturally receiving most of the attention during fight week, but, unlike last weekend’s disastrous Fight Night event, this weekend’s card boasts plenty of depth and quality throughout the undercard and prelims.
Before Merab Dvalishvili attempts to defend the men’s bantamweight championship against former champ Sean O'Malley and women’s bantamweight titleholder Julianna Peña faces two-time Olympic gold medallist Kayla Harrison, mixed martial arts fans will take in a strong early slate of fights.
The 13-bout card that takes place in New Jersey features several rising contenders and a few athletes who have shown glimpses of championship potential.
Below are a handful of names to keep an eye on this weekend at UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2…
Watch UFC 316 on Sportsnet+
Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley meet in a championship rematch and Kayla Harrison challenges Julianna Pena for the women’s bantamweight title. Watch UFC 316 on Saturday, June 7 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
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Joe Pyfer: Middleweight has been one of the more fluid divisions over the past couple years, and with a big win over an established veteran and former title challenger, Pyfer could break into the rankings. Pyfer is set to take on Kelvin Gastelum in the middle of the main card, with both men looking to get back on a multi-fight win streak.
The 28-year-old who was born in New Jersey and fights out of Philadelphia should have a hometown advantage at the Prudential Center, though Gastelum has always been respected by the volatile MMA fan base. Pyfer is coming off a devastating knockout win over Marc-Andre Barriault, while Gastelum earned a decision win over Daniel Rodriguez.
Both of those wins occurred in late June 2024, so it has been nearly a full year since each 185-pounder’s most recent appearance. Pyfer and Gastelum were originally scheduled to meet in March in Mexico City, and both fighters successfully weighed in, but the matchup was scrapped the day of the event after Pyfer fell ill.
It was announced earlier this year that Gastelum, specifically his memorable 2019 title fight with Israel Adesanya, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer. Gastelum came up short in that modern classic versus Izzy and has only gone 3-5 in his eight subsequent fights.
Pyfer, meanwhile, is 4-1 at the UFC level since debuting in 2022, with his lone loss being a humbling five-round decision to Jack Hermansson 16 months ago. Pyfer will have a significant size and power advantage over Gastelum, who has always had difficulty cutting down to welterweight and, therefore, is one of the smallest middleweight competitors in the UFC.
Mario Bautista: One of the most intriguing aspects of UFC 316 is the debut of former Bellator MMA bantamweight champ Patchy Mix. However, like most ex-Bellator stars who join the UFC roster, he’s not being given a gimme matchup in his debut. Bautista is a top-10 contender at 135 pounds on a seven-fight winning streak, which is tied for the third-longest streak in the division’s history.
The 31-year-old Bautista, who trains out of the MMA Lab in Arizona, has solid boxing and forward pressure, and if the fight goes to the ground, he holds six career submission wins. Bautista’s stock is in a lull, relatively speaking, after his lacklustre split decision win over former UFC champion and Hall of Famer Jose Aldo this past October. He may be wise to take another cautious approach to this matchup, with Mix being a dangerous submission artist with a tricky skill set on the mat.
The fact that Bautista is the listed underdog despite his significant advantage in UFC experience, plus the fact he’s facing a recent Bellator world champ, could provide some added motivation for a top bantamweight who’s being overlooked this week. Bautista defends two-thirds of the takedown attempts he faces and lands 5.33 significant strikes per minute, so his best path to victory could be attempting to keep this fight standing.
Mix has said repeatedly this week, including again at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference, that he’s looking right through Bautista.
Joshua Van: Saturday’s preliminary card is headlined by what should be a Fight of the Night frontrunner. Van is one of the most exciting young fighters on the UFC roster with fantastic boxing combinations and an aggressive, in-your-face style.
Myanmar’s Van is still only 23, yet already has a 6-1 UFC record with his most recent win coming against Rei Tsuruya at UFC 313 in March. Van’s original opponent for that event was Bruno Gustavo da Silva, whom he’ll fight this weekend.
Van is a huge betting favourite against Silva, although the wide odds are not reflective of how competitive this matchup could be. Silva is 35 and coming off a loss to Manel Kape in December, but he was riding a four-fight winning streak prior to that technical knockout loss, which happened after multiple eye pokes from Kape, including right before the finishing sequence.
Van is never in a boring fight and averages roughly 110 significant strikes per fight through his first seven UFC bouts. His 8.1 significant strikes landed per minute ranks first among all active UFC fighters regardless of weight class and is an indication of Van's insane, fan-friendly work rate.
Azamat Murzakanov: The UFC matchmakers could’ve paired Murzakanov with any ranked 205-pounder and there’s a strong chance he would be the betting favourite. Instead, the 14-0 Russian standout was matched up with unranked Brendson Ribeiro.
Murzakanov is 36, only has four UFC fights since earning a contract in 2021 and doesn’t look like your standard professional athlete, but don’t let that fool you. Murzakanov is a phenomenal talent with a combat sambo background. He’s patient, finds his distance and timing and has proven power with 10 of his wins coming by KO/TKO.
Ribeiro, 28, is always game and riding a two-fight winning streak after upsetting Diyar Nurgozhay, a touted and previously unbeaten light-heavyweight, but he does have three first-round knockout losses since 2022 and will need to prioritize protecting his chin.
Murzakanov has knocked down all of his opponents thus far in his UFC career, and another impressive showing or highlight finish should get the No. 12-ranked contender a top-10 opponent in his next outing.
Joo-sang Yoo: The undefeated 31-year-old caught the eye of UFC matchmakers thanks to a pair of wins in 2024 in The Korean Zombie’s new MMA organization, Z Fight Night, and he’s making his UFC debut this weekend. Yoo is an interesting prospect at featherweight with a nice opportunity to make an impression against Jeka Saragih, a knockout artist from Indonesia.
Yoo is light on his feet with some dynamic striking, but does often keep his hands low, something Saragih will look to exploit during striking exchanges. All Saragih’s pro losses have been a result of his below-average ground game. He is 14-4 in MMA with three of his losses by submission and the other by ground-and-pound.
Quillan Salkilld: Kicking off the early prelims is a quality lightweight scrap between Salkilld and Yanal Ashmouz. Salkilld has won eight straight since dropping his pro debut and offers high-ceiling potential. Salkilld is only 25 and hasn’t quite faced the same quality of competition as Ashmouz, who is 30 and has an identical 8-1 pro record.
We didn’t learn much about Salkilld in his UFC debut this past September — besides the fact he carries knockout power — because he put away Anshul Jubli with a perfect right hand in a mere 19 seconds. Ashmouz is 2-1 in the UFC, accustomed to the underdog role and is coming off a quality three-round unanimous decision win over Trevor Peek during which he landed a whopping nine takedowns.
If Ashmouz decides to wrestle with Salkilld, he’ll need to be aware of the young Australian’s grappling ability. Salkilld is a jiu-jitsu black belt with three submission wins on his record.
