The UFC is kicking off its partnership with Paramount in style.
On Thursday, UFC President Dana White made a special appearance during the CBS broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Kansas City Chiefs game
to announce an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, as well as a bantamweight title fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, with the bouts headlining UFC 324 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Jan. 24.
Reigning lightweight champion Ilia Topuria announced he will not be competing in the first quarter of 2026, which prompted officials to introduce an interim belt in his absence.
The event marks the first of 13 numbered events scheduled under the Paramount partnership for 2026.
Gaethje (26-5), already a former interim champion, had made it known he was waiting to face the winner of the vacant title fight between Topuria and Charles Olivera in June. After seeing Topuria dispatch his Brazilian foe, “The Highlight” doubled down on his intentions to wait for his title shot, pointing to the upcoming UFC White House card in June as a potential date.
In terms of competition, Gaethje was last seen getting back into the win column with a Fight of the Night performance against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 in March. With the victory, Gaethje bounced from losing his BMF title to Max Holloway by knockout at UFC 300.
Pimblett (23-3) was last seen steamrolling former title challenger Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April. Since then, “The Baddy” also made it known he wanted to settle his issues with Topuria inside the Octagon, even squaring off with the champion after UFC 317. Prior to his win over Chandler, the Liverpool native rattled off six straight UFC wins, including a decision over Tony Ferguson and a submission of Bobby Green.
The winner of the interim bout is expected to face Topuria in a unification bout later in 2026.
Harrison (19-1), a two-time Olympic gold medalist and PFL champion, earned her title after submitting Julianna Peña at UFC 316 in June. Almost immediately after, she called Nunes into the octagon to set up a future fight before facing off for the crowd,
Nunes (23-5), a former bantamweight and featherweight champion, has not competed since defending her 135-pound championship against Irena Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023. Following her win, “The Lioness” laid down her two titles and announced her immediate retirement from the sport. Now, two years later, the woman many consider the greatest of all time is coming back to attempt to reclaim her throne.
Also announced for the main card is a bantamweight fight between former champion Sean O’Malley and rising contender Song Yadong.
O’Malley (18-3, 1 NC) is coming off back-to-back losses to current champion Merab Dvalishvili. “Suga” lost the fight via decision at Noche UFC inside Sphere, dropping the title to Dvalishvili, and then lost a rematch with Dvalishvili at UFC 316 via third-round submission.
Song (22-8-1, 1 NC) most recently fought in February, where he won a controversial technical decision over Henry’s Cejudo. During the contest, Song was getting the edge over his opponent before an accidental eyepoke rendered Cejudo unable to continue.
The fight card also features a matchup of former champions facing off, with former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso taking on former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Grasso (16-5-1) is on a two-fight losing skid, dropping her title to Valentina Shevchenko in their trilogy fight before losing a decision to Natalia Silva at UFC 315. Namajunas (14-7) is 3-1 since moving up to 125 pounds, and coming off a decision win over Miranda Maverick at UFC Atlanta.
Other fights announced include a heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and the surging Waldo Cortes-Acosta and a featherweight matchup between Arnold Allen and Jean Silva.
