The bantamweight fight featuring Marlon Vera and Mario Bautista has been moved to UFC 316, taking place on June 7th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This change was announced by the UFC on Tuesday. The fight was originally planned for UFC Des Moines on May 3rd. The reason for the rescheduling has not been disclosed.
UFC 316 is headlined by the highly anticipated bantamweight championship rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. The co-main event features Kayla Harrison challenging Julianna Peña for the women’s bantamweight title.
Marlon “Chito” Vera will make his first appearance in 2025 after a challenging 2024 without a win. In his last fight, Vera competed for the bantamweight title at UFC 299 in March, suffering a clear decision loss to O’Malley. Prior to that, in August, he faced former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and lost another unanimous decision at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Mario Bautista is entering this fight with significant momentum, boasting an impressive seven-fight winning streak. His most recent victory was a controversial split decision against former two-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 307 in October.
The UFC also confirmed a light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Azamat Murzakanov for the event.
