Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will kick off 2026 (and its billion-dollar streaming deal) with UFC 324: “Gaethje vs. Pimblett” on Sat. night (Jan. 24) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card will be headlined by the interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, with the winner keeping the belt warm until the return of Ilia Topuria.

The co-main event features former 135-pound champion, Sean O’Malley, filling the hole left by Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes after Harrison was pulled with a bum neck. “Suga” battles ranked bantamweight Yadong Song, who could find himself at or near the top of a very short list of title challengers with a breakout performance this weekend in “Sin City.” Ilia Topuria was forced to take a leave of absence to deal with his divorce, prompting the creation of the interim title. Justin Gaethje was an easy choice for the A side based on his resume as well as time served. Paddy Pimblett … ehhhh not so much. At the same time, No. 1-ranked Arman Tsarukyan is brawling with fans, missing weight for title fights, and head-butting opponents at weigh ins, so I kinda get why the promotion has soured on “Ahalkalakets.” It helps that Pimblett has a long and ugly history with Topuria dating back to the days of flying sanitizer bottles, and we also have their impromptu face off at UFC 317, so it could be a fun buildup to their title unification fight later this year.

In addition, Alexa Grasso was forced out of her fight against Rose Namajunas due to an injury, and she was replaced by Natalia Silva. “Thug Rose” will attempt to build off the win she got over Miranda Maverick last summer in hopes of locking down a title fight. Silva, meanwhile, is on a 13-fight win streak and is undefeated (7-0) inside the Octagon. Ricky Turcios and Cameron Smotherman were set to throw down in a Bantamweight bout before it was scratched after Smotherman fainted after stepping off the scales. It was the obvious that it was the move to make seeing as how he was rushed to the hospital and was in no condition to compete. Ty Miller will be making his UFC debut after earning his spot with a win on Contender Series. He is undefeated (6-0-1), making his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut just three years ago. He will face Adam Fuggit, who is 2-3 inside the Octagon and is coming off a first round knockout loss at the hands of Islam Dulatov last summer.

O’Malley enters the bout looking to rebound after back-to-back losses to Merab Dvalishvili. Despite the skid, “Suga” remains firmly in the title conversation, having already defeated current champion Petr Yan earlier in his career. A statement win here could rapidly propel him back toward gold. Song, meanwhile, continues his steady ascent through the rankings. The 28-year-old Chinese standout followed his victory over Henry Cejudo with growing confidence and now has the opportunity to score the biggest win of his career. With uncertainty at the top, the winner could emerge as the leading contender in one of the UFC’s deepest divisions. A pivotal heavyweight clash awaits at UFC 324 as Waldo Cortes-Acosta tests his momentum against the division’s most feared knockout artist, Derrick Lewis. After a breakout 2025 campaign, Cortes-Acosta enters this matchup aiming to prove he belongs among the elite at 265 pounds.