UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, was the UFC’s 11th visit, but its first in a year, the last being June 2024 at UFC 302.
At the event, it was announced that two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner Mark Kerr would be the final inductee in this year’s Hall of Fame in the “pioneer wing”.
The event saw 13 fights, with seven going the distance and six stoppages, including three submission victories.
TOP PERFORMER: MERAB DVALISHVILI
In a rematch to their September 2024 fight, where Merab won the title, O’Malley was looking to take his title back. He promised to be better and to demonstrate his exceptional striking.
However, it was the champion who showed improvement from their first fight, adding striking abilities to his exceptional gas tank, forward movement and wrestling.
Marab overwhelmed O’Malley, not allowing him to get going, with a combination of improved striking and stifling wrestling. O’Malley looked exhausted in the third round after another takedown, and then Marab locked in a choke forcing O’Malley to tap.
TOP PERFORMER 2: KEVIN HOLLAND
Although it was two veterans without winning records coming into the fight, Holland’s victory was still a surprise result.
Holland came into it with two wins from his last six, Luque, three from his last six. Holland was determined from the start and showed good striking, including a vicious elbow in the first that caused a massive lump on Luque’s head.
In the second, Holland continued where he left off and frustrated Luque. He then caught a lazy leg kick, got Luque to the ground and locked in a deep anaconda choke forcing the tap.
TOP PERFORMER 3: KAYLA HARRISON
Despite Harrison being a massive favourite, she still had to execute against the champ Julianna Pena, who had caused big upsets in the past.
However, as soon as the bout started, it looked like there was no way Pena was going to stage an upset. Harrison did whatever she wanted in the fight. Closed the distance and took Pena down.
At the end of the first round, she almost got a submission victory but time ran out. However, she made no mistake in the second, taking Pena down with ease and submitting her with a Kimura lock.
Honourable Mentions
Yoo Joo-Sang announced himself to the UFC with an explosive debut that lasted just 28 seconds of the first round, following a superb knockout of Jeka Saragih. As his opponent walked forward, Yoo executed a perfect left hook that landed flush, sending Saragih face-first into the canvas.
Joshua Van set a flyweight record on the way to an impressive third round stoppage of a game Bruno da Silva. He dropped Silva a record four times, once in the first, twice in the second, then again in third, which led to the stoppage, as he demonstrated some excellent boxing for his seventh UFC win in just two years.
