Fight By Fight Preview | UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett
Outlining The Action Set To Take Place At T-Mobile Arena As The Paramount+ Era Begins
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X @spencerkyte
Welcome to 2026 and the Paramount+ era!
The UFC begins its year inside the Octagon and partnership with its new broadcast partner with a star-studded, jam-packed lineup at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday with UFC 324. Headlined by an interim lightweight title clash between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett with a host of critically important divisional matchups on the undercard, the first numbered event of 2026 promises to be an all-action kickoff to what should a tremendous year.
Let’s set the table for what’s set to take place this weekend.
Interim Lightweight Championship Main Event: Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett
The year’s first main event will set the stage for a future showdown in the talent-rich 155-pound weight class as Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett go toe-to-toe in a battle for the interim lightweight title.
A two-time undisputed title challenger and former interim champion, Gaethje is looking to secure one last opportunity to fight for undisputed gold. Coming off a unanimous decision win over Rafael Fiziev in his lone appearance of 2025, the 37-year-old bonus machine is on the shortlist of the most consistently entertaining fighters in UFC history and could further bolster his stellar resume with a second interim championship win this weekend.
“Paddy the Baddy” has been a constant source of electricity and excitement since arriving in the UFC, posting seven consecutive victories while rising through the lightweight ranks. Each time experts suggest he has reached his limits, the proud Scouser has taken another step forward, earning his place in this interim championship bout with a third-round stoppage win over Michael Chandler last April.
With reigning champ Ilia Topuria taking time off to deal with personal matters, the option to schedule an interim title fight was a no-brainer. Gaethje has been a fixture in the championship conversation through his UFC tenure, and Pimblett is on the longest winning streak in the division as well as being one of the most popular fighters in the sport.
No matter how this shakes out, it will set up a massive undisputed title clash with Topuria whenever he is ready to return.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Sean O’Malley vs Song Yadong
The complexion of the bantamweight division shifted in the final title fight of 2025, and now Sean O’Malley and Song Yadong look to make their case for a championship opportunity in 2026 as they go head-to-head in the co-main event.
After losing just once through his first 20 professional appearances, the 31-year-old O’Malley begins his year on a 2-fight slide, having dropped consecutive contests to Merab Dvalishvili. But with “The Machine” no longer on the throne and “Suga” owning a victory over new champ Petr Yan, a win over Song could put the technicolor talent in a position to challenge for gold later this year.
Song has made slow and steady progress up the bantamweight ranks since debuting towards the end of 2017. Still only 28 years old, the explosive Chinese standout has the chance to follow up his victory over Henry Cejudo last February with the biggest victory of his career on Saturday night.
Yan and Dvalishvili are even at one win each, and most assume a trilogy bout will happen, but even if that is the case, the winner of this one will be the clubhouse leader for the next shot. Bantamweight is brimming with talent, and every fight carries real divisional significance, so expect both men to be at their sharpest when they step into the Octagon at UFC 324.
Waldo Cortes Acosta vs Derrick Lewis
Following a breakout campaign in 2025, Waldo Cortes Acosta looks to establish himself as a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division in a showdown with the most prolific knockout artist in UFC history, Derrick Lewis.
A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’22, Cortes Acosta has gone 9-2 overall since reaching the biggest stage in the sport, ascending to No. 5 in the rankings. The Dominican slugger elevated his standing in November, following up a first-round stoppage victory over Ante Delija with a similar result in a short-notice appearance in Doha, Qatar, three weeks later.
Lewis has earned 16 of his 20 UFC victories by knockout and rolls into UFC 324 having won three of his last four inside the distance, including a 35-second stoppage win over Tallison Teixeira in Nashville last July. The 40-year-old “Black Beast” may be a joker outside of the Octagon, but he has remained a fixture in the title picture for nearly a decade and is more than capable of halting the rise of “Salsa Boy.”
Will Cortes Acosta claim a third straight win and topple the tenured contender, or can Lewis put himself back into the title conversation with a third consecutive win of his own?
Natalia Silva vs Rose Namajunas
Flyweight standouts meet in this main card pairing carrying title implications as Natalia Silva steps in to face “Thug” Rose Namajunas.
Undefeated inside the Octagon and riding a 13-fight winning streak overall, Silva seemingly established herself as the top contender in the 125-pound weight class with a dominant decision win over former champ Alexa Grasso at UFC 315 in May. But with champion Valentina Shevchenko having faced ex-strawweight queen Zhang Weili in November, the Brazilian has opted to return to action, stepping in to replace Grasso here in an attempt to further cement her place in the title queue.
Namajunas has gone 3-2 since moving up to the 125-pound weight class following her time as a fixture at the top of the strawweight division. The former two-time champ earned a quality win over Miranda Maverick last time out and can shake things at the top of the division up by toppling Silva here.
This profiles as a technical striking battle where Silva will aim to utilize her movement and diverse kicking game with Namajunas countering with her signature crisp boxing. The x-factor could be Namajunas’ grappling, as she’s excellent on the ground and was a serious submission hunter in the early years of her career.
Arnold Allen vs Jean Silva
The first main card of the year opens in the featherweight division as Arnold Allen seeks to defend his place in the rankings against Brazilian marauder Jean Silva.
Allen has been a Top 15 staple for years, but untimely setbacks and frequent injury issues have led to his being less active than anyone would like. He collected a dominant decision win over Giga Chikadze last time out and won his first 10 straight assignments in the UFC, so another victory to bolster his standing in the division is not at all out of the question.
Silva was a buzzsaw through his first five UFC appearances, earning five consecutive stoppage wins while emerging as both a dark horse contender and fan favorite. The Fighting Nerds representative was having success in the second round of his main event clash with Diego Lopes last September at Noche UFC before things quickly went sideways, but a return to his winning ways and the title conversation are a definite possibility here.
How this one plays out will be incredibly instructive as both men have shown serious glimmers of talent but have not yet cleared that final hurdle to be full-blown title threats. Allen is arguably the more complete and certainly the more technical, but Silva’s ferocity, power and aggressiveness can shift the dynamics of any fight.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Umar Nurmagomedov vs Deiveson Figueiredo
Saturday’s UFC 324 prelims wrap in the bantamweight division as recent title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov faces off with former flyweight ruler Deiveson Figueiredo.
Nurmagomedov opened last year with a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 but rebounded with a decisive victory over Mario Bautista to steady himself in the ultra-competitive 135-pound weight class. Figueiredo suffered a loss and a knee injury in his May bout with Cory Sandhagen but got things moving in the right direction again with a unanimous decision victory over Montel Jackson on home soil in October.
Ateba Gautier vs Andrey Pulyaev
Middleweight graduates from Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series clash here as Ateba Gautier and Andrey Pulyaev share the Octagon.
Gautier finished second in the top newcomer category of our year-end staff awards having registered three first-round stoppage wins to establish himself as one of the top ascending talents on the roster. Pulyaev stumbled against Christian Leroy Duncan in his promotional debut last March in London but responded with a dominant stoppage win in August to earn his first UFC victory.
Nikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas
Rankings mainstay Nikita Krylov aims to start the year with a win and hold onto his place in the Top 15, but the streaking Modestas Bukauskas has other ideas heading into this combustible light heavyweight pairing.
Currently stationed at No. 13 in the rankings, Krylov suffered consecutive first-round stoppage losses but has a wealth of experience battling the best the division has to offer. Now in his second stint on the UFC roster, Bukauskas has won four straight and six of seven since returning to the promotion, earning a first-round finish of Paul Craig in his most recent appearance.
Alex Perez vs Charles Johnson
Alex Perez and Charles Johnson clash in this fascinating flyweight pairing on the UFC 324 prelims.
A former title challenger, Perez makes a relatively quick turnaround after suffering a submission loss in his lone appearance of 2025 in November, eager to break out of the funk that has seen him go 1-5 over his last six bouts. Johnson enters this one from the complete opposite position, having won five of six, which includes a third-round knockout win over current champ Joshua Van.
Michael Johnson vs Alexander Hernandez
Lightweight fixtures with a combined 48 UFC appearances, Michael Johnson and Alexander Hernandez bring that total to an even 50 by sharing the Octagon together here.
A finalist on Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, Johnson enters off a unanimous decision win over Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 318 in July that pushed his winning streak to three.
Hernandez arrives in Las Vegas having won four straight, including stoppages over Chase Hooper and Diego Ferreira to wrap up a 3-0 year in 2025.
Josh Hokit vs Denzel Freeman
Josh Hokit and Denzel Freeman collide in a clash of heavyweight sophomores aiming to build on debut successes.
An All-American wrestler and former NFL practice squad player, Hokit has gone 7-0 with seven finishes to begin his MMA career, including a 56-second stoppage win over Max Gimenis in his UFC debut in early November. A USMC veteran, Freeman spent time in WWE’s developmental program and carries a 7-1 record into this one after landing on the happy side of the scorecards in his first UFC start.
Ricky Turcios vs Cameron Smotherman
Ricky Turcios and Cameron Smotherman meet in a battle of Houston-based bantamweight angling to begin the year with a return to the win column.
The 32-year-old Turcios won the bantamweight competition on Season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter but has gone just 1-3 since. After impressing with a win over Jake Hadley on his short notice debut in October 2024, Smotherman has suffered back-to-back decision losses to fall to 12-6 for his career.
Adam Fugitt vs Ty Miller
The 2026 campaign gets underway in the welterweight division, as veteran Adam Fugitt welcomes Ty Miller to the UFC.
While he’s just 2-3 inside the Octagon, Fugitt has fallen to a trio of standouts who were a combined 33-2-1 at the time they fought while earning quality wins over Dana White’s Contender Series grads Yusaku Kinoshita and Josh Quinlan. One of two fighters to earn a contract on the opening week of the Contender Series last season, the 25-year-old Miller is undefeated in six pro starts, including an early win over fellow UFC welterweight Eric Nolan.
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UFC on ESPN 73 - Royval vs. Kape --- UFC 325 - Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 (coming...)
