Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley face off for the second time atop Saturday’s UFC 316 in New Jersey, and this time it’s Georgia’s “The Machine” entering as the reigning champion.
Since their initial meeting last September at Noche UFC, where Dvalishvili derailed the “Suga Show,” O’Malley has been on the sidelines. Merab Dvalishvili, meanwhile, went on to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov in January, becoming the first to defeat the highly-touted Dagestani, a cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.
How you view the rematch between Dvalishvili and O’Malley likely depends on how much you buy into the injury to the then-champ ahead of the pair’s first fight. If O’Malley was injured enough to seriously detract from his performance, than perhaps UFC 316 will yield drastically different results.
In the co-main event on Saturday, it’s Kayla Harrison getting her first shot at UFC gold, opposite women’s bantamweight champ Julianna Pena. Pena is on her second reign as 135lb champ in the UFC; her first ended without a successful title defense, after winning the title from Amanda Nunes then losing it back to the women’s GOAT.
Given Harrison’s Olympic pedigree and status as a two-time PFL champ, many are expecting to see Pena’s night end in similar circumstances at UFC 316. Is the champ being overlooked? Read on to see how we feel the night will play out.
| Writer / Fight | Luque vs. Holland | Bautista vs. Mix | Gastelum vs. Pyfer | Pena vs. Harrison | Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Law (59-34) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Alex Behunin (59-34) |  | |  | |  |
| Mathis Desjardins (57-36) | | | | | |
| Patrick McCorry (50-33) | | | | | |
| Brett Cagle (56-37) | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (48-33) | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (55-38) | | | | | |
| Cade Morehouse (48-33) | | | | | |
| Ryan Quinn (6-2) | | | | | |
First up – just three of nine writers responding are siding with Sean O’Malley in his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley is, with most sources of such information, a moderate underdog in the fight, so that’s not entirely surprising. As for Pena vs. Harrison, all nine members of our team are leaning towards Kayla Harrison earning a UFC championship — and perhaps lining up a showdown with Amanda Nunes as a result, assuming “The Lioness” follows through on plans to end her retirement.
Of note, the debuting former Bellator bantamweight champ Patchy Mix also took a clean sweep with our crew, as every writer responding is choosing him to get past Mario Bautista. Kevin Holland and Joe Pyfer are also decently sized favorites in their fights.
