The UFC has another lightweight champion after Justin Gaethje got the better of Paddy Pimblett to win an interim title in the main event of UFC 324.
Reigning lightweight titleholder Ilia Topuria, who was crowned champion last June, announced late last year that he is taking a temporary hiatus as he tends to personal matters, which is why the UFC introduced an interim title.
Although known more as a submission specialist, Pimblett overcame getting rocked in the first round and had his moments on the feet against Gaethje. In fact, the majority of the fight was a striking match.
The action was paused briefly late in the opening round when Gaethje poked Pimblett in the eye and Gaethje hurt Pimblett again at the end of the second round in a sequence that began with Pimblett sustaining a cut due to getting a Gaethje thumb in the eye.
Gaethje wasn’t deducted any points and he increased his output as the fight progressed. He hurt Pimblett on a handful of occasions, but the English star proved his durability is world-class. Gaethje set a new personal record for most significant strikes landed in a fight but Pimblett saw the final horn.
The fight went the distance, and after 25 fan-friendly minutes, Gaethje got his hand raised via unanimous decision.
Gaethje is now a two-time interim UFC lightweight champion. He previously won an interim belt in 2020 when he defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, but was unable to unify the belts when he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year.
In theory, Gaethje should now move on to face Topuria in a title unification bout, but if Topuria’s absence is prolonged, then it’s possible Gaethje could instead defend his new belt against No. 1 lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Also on the card, Sean O’Malley returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Song Yadong in the co-main event.
O’Malley had lost his previous two fights — both to Merab Dvalishvili, and the first of which ended O’Malley’s bantamweight title reign. Dvalishvili’s time as champ has since come to an end.
Yet since O’Malley holds a previous split decision win over current champion Petr Yan, the question now becomes, was O’Malley’s performance at UFC 324 good enough for him to jump to the front of the line and face Yan for the title later this year?
“Petr Yan has something I want,” O’Malley said after his win. “All respect to Merab. If he gets the next shot, it’s well deserved… (Yan) wants that rematch. I want that belt. Let’s make that happen.”
No. 2 contender Umar Nurmagomedov was victorious on the preliminary card, so it’s getting crowded at the top of the men’s 135-pound division.
The original co-main event at UFC 324 was supposed to be Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes in an anticipated women’s bantamweight title fight but Harrison was forced to withdraw after undergoing surgery on her neck and the UFC announced the bout with Nunes was postponed indefinitely.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta picked up another stoppage win as he put away all-time heavyweight knockout leader Derrick Lewis within two rounds. The second-round technical knockout win was Cortes-Acosta’s sixth fight in the past 10 months and third consecutive
When asked who he might like to face next, Cortes-Acosta offered Curtis Blaydes as a possible option. It was a fitting choice since Cortes-Acosta entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the division and Blaydes is sitting at No. 4.
Natalia Silva edged out Rose Namajunas by decision in the women’s flyweight division. Silva is now 8-0 in the UFC and extended her overall win streak to 14 in a row. Her three most recent wins have been over former UFC champions. In addition to defeating Namajunas, Silva also has unanimous decision wins over Alexa Grasso and Jessica Andrade.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old Brazilian has positioned herself for a title shot. Unless reigning 125-pound champion Valentina Shevchenko decides to move up to bantamweight, Silva will presumably be Shevchenko’s next challenger.
The main card began with featherweights Jean Silva and Arnold Allen going back and forth for 15 minutes. Silva got his hand raised by unanimous decision after three rounds to rebound from a summer loss to Diego Lopes.
Allen, who hadn’t fought since July of 2024, has now been on the wrong side of a decision in three of his past four outings dating back to 2022.
UFC 324 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and marked the first of 43 planned UFC events in 2026.
It also saw the introduction of a new bonus for stoppage wins. Starting with this event, fighters who earn knockout or submission wins will get a $25,000 bonus to supplement their fight purse. The organization is also doubling its Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards from $50,000 to $100,000 going forward.
