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UFC 316 just took a bit of a hit as a former UFC bantamweight title challenger will no longer be featured on the event. Marlon Vera was initially slated to step into the cage against Mario Bautista, but alas, the former will not be stepping into the octagon on June 7.
On a pay-per-view card headlined by a bantamweight championship clash, the Vera vs. Bautista bout would have served as a bout of divisional relevance with a contest between the No. 7 and No. 10 ranked contenders in the weight category, respectively, now being scrapped at this juncture.
The aforementioned fight falling out was first revealed following an initial report from X user @MagicM_MMABets. Thereafter, Mike Heck, a reporter from MMA Fighting, put out some substantiated follow-up information on his personal X account. Heck posted:
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"Marlon Vera is indeed out of his #UFC316 matchup with Mario Bautista, per sources. As of now, no replacement for Bautista. More coming to @MMAFighting shortly. First reported by @MagicM_MMABets"
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Check out the report on Marlon Vera's withdrawal from UFC 316 below:
The UFC 316 main card at this point
While Marlon Vera's withdrawal from the Mario Bautista bout has created a main card vacancy, there are still several intriguing fights set for UFC 316. The two men to make the final walk to the cage on that night in Newark, New Jersey, are quite familiar with one another, and championship hardware is on the line, as mentioned earlier.
Merab Dvalishvili looks to notch the second defense of his bantamweight championship and looks to do so in a rematch against the very man that he claimed it from initially, Sean O'Malley. Dvalishvili has defended his crown just once against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311, while this will be an immediate rematch for O'Malley.
There is another bantamweight championship clash set to go down at this PPV card that transpires inside the Prudential Center. Julianna Pena will defend her 135-pound crown against No. 2 contender and former multiple-time PFL tournament champion Kayla Harrison in the co-main event.
In further main card action in the middleweight ranks, former TUF champion Kelvin Gastelum looks to halt the momentum of surging contender Joe Pyfer. Also, No. 14-ranked welterweight Vicente Luque takes on Kevin Holland in what looks to be a high-octane clash, on paper.
