What’s next for the stars of UFC 316?

The UFC was in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday for a solid UFC 316 card. The main event saw Merab Dvalishvili rematching Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight belt. The co-main event saw Julianna Pena defending her bantamweight title against Kayla Harrison.

Ultimately, it was Dvalishvili who beat O’Malley again, but this time he submitted ‘Suga’ to defend his bantamweight title. The co-main event saw Harrison submit Pena to win the women’s bantamweight title. Following UFC 316, here is what I think should be next for the stars of the event.

Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili was rematching Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 316 as he was looking to defend his belt for the second time. Dvalishvili was able to dominate O’Malley and sunk in a choke to get the win.

With the win, Dvalishvili should face Cory Sandhagen next. Although Dana White thought the Umar Nurmagomedov rematch should happen, he needs to get a win first, as Sandhagen makes the most sense.

Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley is now 0-2 against Dvalishvili, as he will have a hard time getting another crack against the champ. So, his future is murky as he could even move up to featherweight. O’Malley’s takedown defense was another issue, which is something he will need to work on.

Following the loss, if O’Malley stays at bantamweight, the UFC will likely try and give ‘Suga’ a winnable fight. A logical next fight is to face Rob Font, which could be a main card fight on pay-per-view. It would be a fun striking fight and one that O’Malley likely would be favored in.

Kayla Harrison

Kayla Harrison became the UFC women’s bantamweight champion on Saturday with a dominating performance against Julianna Pena. Harrison was able to take Pena down and control her to get the submission in the second round.

After the win at UFC 316, Amanda Nunes came into the Octagon to face off with Harrison. That is likely the next fight that will happen later this year or early next.

Julianna Pena

Julianna Pena lost her bantamweight title for the second time as she failed to defend her belt in either reign. Pena was dominated in the fight from start to finish and now will need to get multiple wins together to get another crack at the belt.

A logical next fight for Pena after UFC 316 is to take on Norma Dumont, who is closing in on a title shot. Dumont hasn’t fought since September, and this could happen later this year on a Fight Night card.