LAS VEGAS — The lineage of UFC’s undisputed 155-pound belt tells a compelling story, not only about how talent-laden and superstar-driven the division has been throughout the history of the company, but how elite lightweights have sat on the cutting edge of the sport’s many revolutions over the last quarter century.
First, there were early-2000’s pioneers: Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk and B.J. Penn. Then, the grinding grapplers, Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson, who ruled as wrestlers proliferated the game in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s.
They gave way to dynamic, well-rounded finishers representing the sport’s rapid innovation, such as Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos and Eddie Alvarez. That was followed by a superstar era — Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev, Ilia Topuria — in which UFC’s best lightweights were perpetually among the most recognizable names in a globally expanding sport.
And as the UFC creeps into its latest era, beginning a seven-year, $7.7-billion broadcast partnership with Paramount+ this Saturday at UFC 324, lightweight is once again front and centre. A loaded, 11-fight undercard will give way to a main event that will produce the first fate-twisting result in what ought to be a year of them for the 155-pound division and the sport itself.
So, as we consider where lightweight stands now and where it could be going, let’s begin there…
Paddy Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje
A fundamental new vs. old school conflict sits at the crux of Saturday’s main event.
Gaethje, 37, your favourite fighter’s favourite fighter whose fierce reputation is built upon round after uncompromising round, trying to summon one more showing of grit and tenacity to claim the second interim title of his career and take a last stab at the undisputed one that’s escaped him over nearly a decade in the company.
Pimblett, 31, the social media darling and meme machine seeking to prove there’s enough substance behind the bombast to sustain a title run and complete a star turn that’s rocketed him to the cusp of an echelon reserved for the most recognizable faces in the sport.
Saturday’s main event could reveal how Gaethje’s blood-and-guts, no-nonsense lightweight era isn’t over just yet. One last push for the Dustin Poirier’s and Michael Chandler’s. Or how Pimblett’s flashy, braggadocios, better-to-be-polarizing-than-peripheral tack is primed to colour the division alongside its current champion, the swaggering Topuria.
Speaking of…
Ilia Topuria vs. uncertainty
UFC’s lightweight titleholder last fought over six months ago, when he flattened Oliveira with a devastating combination, adding the Brazilian’s name to the dreamlike list of legends — Max Holloway and Alex Volkanovski preceded him — Topuria has dispatched emphatically since 2024.
And he was meant to be defending his belt this Saturday, but instead is embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with his wife, Georgina, over custody of their child. Topuria stepped away from the sport to focus on the significant discord — abuse and extortion accusations are also at play — with nothing approaching a distinct timeline for his return emerging since.
At what point the length of Topuria’s hiatus would force the UFC to act on his title status is another unknown, clouding next steps for not only the winner of this Saturday’s interim title, but every other top-10 lightweight with designs on challenging for the belt. And that only compounds the uncertainty for one top lightweight in particular…
Arman Tsarukyan vs. the UFC
Ostensibly the division’s No. 1 contender, Tsarukyan’s been persona non grata to his own promoter after following up an 11th-hour title fight withdrawal last January with a weigh-in flare-up that saw him headbutt an opponent in November.
UFC’s hesitance to rebook him into a headlining fight after those potentially card-altering incidents is understandable. But pressure to give Tsarukyan another shot only mounts with each dominant performance, whether in the UFC, where he’s 10-1 since dropping his debut in a competitive bout with the pound-for-pound best Makhachev, or on the grappling circuit, where he’s been steamrolling name-brand opponents in keep-busy side quests while serving his promotional punishment.
If Topuria’s able to return by late spring or early summer, a title unifier with the winner of Saturday’s main event is a must. But if his absence stretches on, it’ll only get more difficult for the UFC to deny its hot-headed yet meritocratically indisputable top contender his title shot.
Unless, as it is this Saturday with Gaethje, the UFC wants to cash in one more card-topping title fight from a recognizable lightweight from the division’s closing era…
Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway
While this decade-in-the-making rematch between a pair of 145-pound prospects turned 155-pound legends is technically for a ceremonial BMF belt that was still four years from existence when they first met, March’s UFC 326 main event between Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway could become much more than that.
Both fan favourites remain among UFC’s top-ranked lightweights — Oliveira, No. 2, and Holloway, No. 3 — at a time when the company’s seeking to book the catchiest, most attention-grabbing fights possible. Both have recent wins over Gaethje. Both are fresh matchups for Pimblett.
Both are unquestionably among the sport’s most skilled and willing combatants, liable to answer a short-notice call and turn up for a scrap, reaching deep into their bag of veteran grit and guile to pull off an upset against a younger, less experienced opponent on any given Saturday.
And both are perpetually on the verge of a title shot before you consider the massive uncertainty surrounding the only two lightweights ranked ahead of them — Topuria and Tsarukyan. It isn’t difficult to envision one of Holloway or Oliveira messing around in Vegas this March, creating a fresh highlight off the other, and springboarding into a title fight as Topuria and Tsarukyan remain sidelined.
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Watch UFC 324 on Sportsnet+
Lightweight stars Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett compete for an interim championship on the first UFC card of the year. Watch UFC 324 on Saturday, Jan. 24 with prelim coverage beginning 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
It’s MMA — nothing can be ruled out. Not even…
Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Dan Hooker
Amid the drama and intrigue swirling atop the division, the business of sorting lightweight wheat from chaff continues. And there’s more at play in a clash of stand-and-bang brawlers at next Saturday’s UFC 325 than may originally meet the eye.
After getting outclassed by Tsarukyan over a suffocating round-and-a-half leading to an arm triangle finish in November, Dan Hooker is turning right around to run headfirst into another of the division’s most dangerous matchups — belligerent French 30-year-old Benoit Saint-Denis.
Considering the recklessness with which these two fight, this could serve as a BMF No. 1 contender’s fight. But in light of the growing public animosity between Hooker and Pimblett, not to mention the heater Saint-Denis’ riding, it could be more than that.
After a pair of momentum-halting 2024 defeats at the hands of Poirier and Renato Moicano, Saint-Denis quickly reestablished himself with a trio of 2025 victories, including a first-minute flattening of Beneil Dariush in November. If he can add Hooker to his streak, he’ll likely force himself into lightweight’s top five, where he’ll be a fresh matchup for anyone who dares fight him.
Hooker, meanwhile, would love to see Pimblett defeated by Gaethje on Saturday, dropping the Brit out of the title picture. That would invite a beef-settling clash with Hooker whether he beats Saint-Denis or not — a must-see grudge match with the added stakes of keeping someone afloat near the top of the division.
Meanwhile, Alexander Hernandez is looking for his fifth straight win against timeless veteran Michael Johnson on Saturday. Fighting Nerds product Mauricio Ruffy, coming off a tough defeat to Saint-Denis, is seeking to reestablish his highlight-reel rise next weekend against a gatekeeping Rafael Fiziev. And two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega is making his 155-pound debut in March, attempting to climb a second division with a rematch against Moicano, whom he submitted in 2017 at 145 pounds.
Hernandez, Ruffy, and Ortega are all being set up in favourable spots to showcase their strengths and push up the lightweight rankings, laying groundwork for the next layer of divisional realignment after all these first-quarter contests are through.
Talent-laden and superstar-driven as ever, lightweight is humming as the UFC enters its new Paramount era. It can feel like everything’s always changing in such a young, rapidly evolving sport. But at least one thing’s staying the same.
