MISSOULA — Sean O'Malley is set to make his return to the Octagon looking to reclaim his title belt.
The UFC announced Tuesday that the Helena native is set to challenge for the promotion's bantamweight championshi in a rematch with current champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey.
Related: Photos: Helena's Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishfili fight at UFC 306 at Sphere
The date is set for June 7 at the Prudential Center.
The MMA bout is the first for O'Malley since he and Dvalishvili dueled at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. Dvalishvili, then the challenger to then-champion O'Malley, won by unanimous decision to claim the belt.
Dvalishvili used his vaunted wrestling and cardio to dictate the bout and control O'Malley throughout, who was unable to get in rhythm with his striking where the Montanan excels. O'Malley's seven-fight unbeaten streak was snapped in the process.
O'Malley then underwent hip surgery after the fight which he has publicly confirmed multiple times since.
Dvalishvili, who hails from the Republic of Georgia but currently trains out of Las Vegas before previously training out of New York, has since defended his title, beating challenger Umar Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18 at UFC 311.
Dvalishvili is currently 19-4 as a pro MMA fighter and is riding a 12-fight win streak.
The loss at Sphere was only O'Malley's second in his pro career and in the UFC, though his first came under odd circumstances where he appeared to get injured against Marlon Vera at UFC 252 on Aug. 15, 2020.
As a pro, O'Malley currently sits at 18-2 with one no contest, and is 10-2 with the no contest all coming in the UFC.
This title fight will also be O'Malley's fourth in the UFC, in which he is 2-1. O'Malley initially won the UFC bantamweight championship on Aug. 19, 2023 at UFC 292 with a TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling in Boston.
He followed that with a rematch with Vera, who he beat by unanimous decision at UFC 299 in Miami on March 9 of last year before falling to Dvalishvili in September to relinquish the belt.
