A pair of title fights headlined the UFC’s return to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with UFC 316 crowning a new queen while the king of the bantamweights staked his claim as the greatest 135-pound fighter of all-time.
But UFC 316 lacked edge-of-your-seat action and opted for mostly showcases and dominant performances.
Was that good enough to give the fight card a passing grade?
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake. Andreas Hale takes a look at all 13 fights of UFC 316.
Men’s bantamweight championship: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley
Result: Dvalishvili defeats O’Malley by third-round submission
Grade: B+
This was another suffocating and relentless performance from Dvalishvili, who didn’t look like he broke a sweat in submitting O’Malley. It’s getting a little ridiculous to watch Dvalishvili frustrate his opponents with his endless gas tank and evolving offensive skill set. Before, it was the fatigue of being taken down and getting back up. But after the way he finished O’Malley, there’s a new element of danger.
O’Malley looked confident in his game plan early, as he circled the Octagon and warded off takedown attempts. Then Dvalishvili hit another gear and became relentless, and there was nothing O’Malley could do about it. He was submitted by a neck crank in the third round, and now the question is whether we are witnessing the greatest bantamweight in UFC history.
Women’s bantamweight championship: Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison
Result: Harrison defeats Peña by second-round submission
Grade: B
This was Harrison at her most dominant. She imposed her will from the start, and Peña had no clue how to deal with the pressure. The only thing that kept Harrison off of her was an illegal upkick in the first round that earned Peña a one-point deduction. Harrison reapplied the pressure in the second round, putting Peña on the canvas and going to work. Just when it looked like Peña would survive the round after Harrison gave up on an arm triangle, the two-time Olympic gold medalist snatched up a Kimura and got the submission with five seconds left in the round. This was the kind of performance that makes you wonder how evenly matched a fight with Amanda Nunes would be.
Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
Result: Pyfer defeats Gastelum by unanimous decision
Grade: D+
The worst thing to happen was Pyfer dropping Gastelum less than a minute into the fight. Pyfer realized he could put Gastelum down and proceeded to headhunt, looking for a one-punch knockout for the rest of the fight. It immediately went from an inevitable highlight-reel knockout to a snoozer of a fight in which Pyfer almost let his opponent back in late. Pyfer apologized in his postfight interview for not getting the knockout, so it would be irresponsible to suggest you go out of your way to watch this. Pyfer will have good performances in the Octagon. This wasn’t one of them.
Men’s bantamweight: Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix
Result: Bautista defeats Mix by unanimous decision
Grade: C
This wasn’t a bad fight. But with the hype surrounding Mix, his performance left a lot to be desired. If you have watched Mix fight, you likely didn’t recognize him in the Octagon. The world-renowned grappler never brought the fight to the canvas and opted instead to stand with Bautista. Mix was slow, had no head movement and made Bautista’s night a lot easier than he probably anticipated. This was a nightmare debut for Mix but a great win for Bautista.
Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland
Result: Holland defeats Luque by second-round submission
Grade: B
This was one of Holland’s better performances in the Octagon, and may have come as a surprise considering his recent performances. He was locked in from the start, peppering Luque with strikes and constantly on the move. Luque probably expected to see the fighter who had lost four of his past six fights before Saturday, but instead Holland surprised him with a tightly cinched anaconda choke. Holland reminded everyone how dangerous he can be.
Men’s flyweight: Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van
Result: Van defeats Silva by third-round TKO
Grade: B
This may have been Van’s finest performance in the Octagon. The 23-year-old was sharp, sniping Silva with right hands, evading danger and patiently picking his spots until the opportunity to finish the Brazilian presented itself. Silva was the higher-ranked flyweight entering the fight, but Van’s performance suggested the rankings were wrong. Outside of Van losing to Charles Johnson last July, he has shown marked improvement every time he steps into the Octagon. This is worth watching as a title contender may be upon us.
Light heavyweight: Azamat Murzakanov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
Result: Murzakanov defeats Ribeiro by first-round TKO
Grade: B-
Murzakanov might be the UFC’s most unassuming potential title contender. He collected his 11th knockout win and remained unbeaten by burning through Ribeiro in the first round. Ribeiro felt the power and was sent packing by Murzakanov after a left hand wrecked his equilibrium and signaled the beginning of the end. Murzakanov deserves a better opponent next.
Heavyweight: Serghei Spivac vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Result: Cortes-Acosta defeats Spivac by unanimous decision
Grade: D
The heavyweight division is in desperate need of new title contenders. Unfortunately, this fight did nothing to aid the cause as Cortes-Acosta won a dreary matchup. Neither fighter did much to write home about in what was your typical sluggish heavyweight affair. All this fight did was remind us just how much distance there is between Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall and the rest of the heavyweight division.
Welterweight: Khaos Williams vs. Andreas Gustafsson
Result: Gustafsson defeats Williams by unanimous decision
Grade: D+
If you want to see a man get bullied in an extremely unexciting fight, watch what Gustafsson did to Williams. It was incredibly one-sided, as Williams crumbled under the extraordinary pressure that Gustafsson put on from the opening bell. However, there were far too many clinches to make this an exciting fight.
Women’s flyweight: Ariane da Silva vs. Wang Cong
Result: Wang defeats Da Silva by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Da Silva had a massive size advantage after missing weight by six pounds, but it didn’t matter. Wang easily dissected her over 15 minutes. Wang cruised to victory but still tried to pick up a finish with a wicked assortment of leg kicks. She nearly collected the division’s first leg kick knockout when she sank da Silva in the second round but couldn’t finish the job. This fight wasn’t very competitive, but it was a great look at Wang’s superb striking.
Featherweight: Jeka Saragih vs. JooSang Yoo
0:40
JooSang Yoo sends opponent to the mat with one punch
JooSang Yoo sends his opponent stiff to the mat with one punch in the first round of their bout at UFC 316.
Result: Yoo defeats Saragih by first-round KO
Grade: A
Yoo produced a knockout straight out of the Conor McGregor playbook by landing a left hand on a charging Saragih that caused his opponent to face-plant in a heap. It was a work of art that should be played on an infinite loop. Outstanding.
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld vs. Yanal Ashmouz
Result: Salkilld defeats Ashmouz by unanimous decision
Grade: C
For two rounds, Salkilld put on an exhibition and showcased his improved wrestling. But then somebody must have told Ashmouz the fight started in Round 3, because he buzzed Salkilld with some thudding strikes in the final round. Salkilld fought to stay on his feet as Ashmouz plowed forward, looking for a finishing combination, but Salkilld banked enough rounds to get the win and show he had a bit of dog in him as well.
Lightweight: MarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski
Result: Mederos defeats Choinski by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
If calf kicks are your thing, this fight was for you. Mederos slammed calf kicks into Choinski from the outset and severely compromised his opponent. Choinski had no answers aside from a couple takedowns and a rear-naked choke attempt. But when the fight was on the feet, Mederos dominated. He wasn’t able to get a finish, but it was a solid outing for the lightweight. It just wasn’t particularly exciting.
UFC 316 fight card grade: C
If it weren’t for Dvalishvili, Harrison, Yoo and Van, this card would have been a stinker as the competition was lacking. Fortunately, the main and co-main events highlighted two rising stars with dominant performances. Van looked like a future flyweight champion contender and Yoo delivered a knockout that will likely be replayed until the end of the year.
