Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista among four fights announced for UFC 316

The UFC 316 card is starting to come together.

The promotion announced four fights on Tuesday for the pay-per-view card on June 7 in Newark, N.J.

Seventh-ranked Marlon “Chito” Vera will fight No. 10 Mario Bautista at bantamweight, and Johnny Walker (11) vs. Azamat Murzakanov (12) at light-heavyweight, Bruno Silva (12) vs. Joshua Van (14) at flyweight and a middleweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Pyfer.

Vera is coming off back-to-back losses to Sean O’Malley for the belt at UFC 299 and Deiveson Figueiredo in Aug. 2024. The 32-year-old owns a career 23-10-1 MMA record and recorded five consecutive wins via finishes from Aug. 2018 to Oct. 2019. He also won four straight from June 2021 to Aug. 2022.

Bautista (15-2) is one of the biggest risers in the bantamweight division, winning his last seven bouts. He defeated former champ Jose Aldo by split decision at UFC 307.

Walker, 33, is looking to end a two-fight losing streak after being defeated by No. 9 Volkan Oezdemir and current champion Magomed Ankalaev. Before his loss to Ankalaev, Walker (21-9) won three straight against some of the toughest fighters in the division: Ion Cutelaba, Anthony Smith and Paul Craig.

Murzakanov is currently undefeated in his MMA career (14-0), with his most recent victory coming in Aug. 2024.

Gastelum vs. Pyfer is a rebooked bout that was supposed to take place at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Erceg on March 29, but Pyfer fell ill hours before the fight.

Lastly, Silva has lost four straight fights, while Van has won three in a row and has lost only once in the UFC.