UFC Lightweight Title Successfully Defended by Merab Dvalishvili in Championship Match
In a thrilling evening of mixed martial arts (MMA) action, UFC 316, held at the Prudential Center in Newark from June 7th to 8th, saw several notable performances and title changes.
In the main event, current UFC lightweight champion Meraab Dvalishvili successfully defended his title against challenger Sean O'Malley. Dvalishvili, who made his UFC debut on December 9, 2017, and boasts a record of 20 wins and 4 losses, secured a hard-fought victory via rear-naked choke in the third round.
The co-main event saw a significant title change as Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo champion, claimed the UFC lightweight title. Harrison, who has 18 wins (12 by KO) and 3 losses (1 no-contest) in MMA, defeated Julianna Pena in the second round via an armbar.
Other standout performances included Ju Sang Ung's first-round knockout of Jack Saragih, Azamat Murzakanov's TKO victory over Brendson Ribeiro in the first round, and Kevin Holland's submission of Vicente Luque in the second round.
Interestingly, O'Malley had briefly held the UFC lightweight championship title, having won it in August 2023 by defeating Aljamain Sterling via TKO in the second round. However, his loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 316 marked the end of his title reign.
As for the current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, who won the title on October 22, 2022, by submitting Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, remains in the position. Makhachev has successfully defended the belt 4 times since then.
Looking ahead, the next UFC tournament will take place on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, USA. The main event will be a fight for the vacant UFC lightweight championship title, featuring Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira.
[1] Source: UFC official website (as of June 29, 2025)
In the aftermath of the UFC 316 event, sports fans continue to discuss the performances in mixed martial arts (MMA), with the main event seeing Meraab Dvalishvili defending his lightweight title against Sean O'Malley. On a separate note, an intriguing title change also occurred in the co-main event as Kayla Harrison claimed the UFC lightweight title via an armbar against Julianna Pena.
