Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to begin a new era, leaving behind ESPN in favor of signing a deal with Paramount+ , which is huge for fight fans because that means the pay-per-view (PPV) era is dead
(more on that here). Headlining the first event of the year — which now has a new start time — will be an interim Lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett, who will fight for the right to face Ilia Topuria in the future. In the re-vamped co-main event, Sean O’Malley will face off against Yadong Song in a pivotal Bantamweight bout.
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UFC 324 CHEAT SHEET
What UFC event is on tonight? UFC 324: “Gaethje vs. Pimblett”
Who is fighting tonight at UFC 324? Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett lightweight title fight is the five-round main event.
What time does UFC 324? TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 24, 2025), beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Where will UFC 324 take place? T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
How can I watch UFC 324? The Paramount+ “Prelims” matches online are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
How do I bet on UFC 324? Checkout the latest lines at FanDuel Sportsbook
Where can I get live UFC 324 updates and results? Get full UFC 324 play-by-play updates and live coverage here!
The Lightweight division is in a rut at the moment seeing as how the champion, Ilia Topuria, is on hiatus dealing with personal issues. In the meantime, the weight class will crown an interim champion as Gaethje and Pimblett throw down to see who gets to face “El Matador” later this year. Gaethje has tasted interim gold before after he defeated Tony Ferguson in May 2020, and also won the “BMF” title by knocking out Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. That said, he did come up short in his previous two bids to win the undisputed strap against Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov. With a win over “The Baddy” he will earn his third — and perhaps final — chance to win that strap. The knockout artist has teased retirement recently, and his back-and-forth verbal squabbles with Dana White and Daniel Cormier regarding fighter pay aren’t doing him any favors when it comes to his stance with the promotion. At this point of his career, though, I doubt “The Highlight” cares what anyone thinks, his bosses included.
Against Pimblett, Gaethje will run into an rising star in the division who has shown he does have skills to compete at the highest level. That said, many have questioned why he got a chance to fight for the title instead of Arman Tsarukyan seeing as how “The Baddy’s” UFC strength of schedule isn’t exactly the toughest. He is 7-0 inside the Octagon with five finishes, but his toughest tests were against Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler. But you can’t blame Pimblett for taking the golden opportunity since he is clearly being pushed by the promotion as a potential superstar for them moving forward. So what better chance to have him try to win a world title in the debut event on Paramount+? Should he be victorious he will prove matchmakers and the powers that be right and give them the last laugh. If he falls short it won’t be the end of the world because there will be those that may excuse his defeat by saying it was too soon. At any rate, it’s a win-win for him.
What’s Not:
Nikita Krylov is currently on a two-fight losing streak while Modestas Bukauskas has won four in a row. And yet, UFC matchmakers felt this was a good fight to book. I can’t wrap my head around matchups such as these that don’t make sense based on recent track records.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card/Injuries
One of the most anticipated fights of the night went up in smoke after Kayla Harrison had to withdraw from her first-ever title women’s Bantamweight title defense — which was set to co-headline the card — against Amanda Nunes due to a neck injury. Harrison underwent surgery and will now be out for at least half of 2026, leaving “Lioness” to ponder her next move.
Also, 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 at 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.
New Blood:
Ty Cole Miller will be making his UFC debut after earning his spot with a win on the Contender Series. He is undefeated at 6-0-1 and made his MMA debut just three years ago. He will be facing 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 (see it again here).
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
Michael Johnson and Alexander Hernandez will collide in what should be an intriguing Lightweight affair. Johnson is currently on a three-fight win streak — his first in over a decade — and has found a new groove after years of inconsistency. As for Hernandez, he has turned it around after dropping back-to-back fights by winning his last four in a row.
Josh Hokit impressed in his UFC debut be securing a 58-second knockout win over Max Gimenis, his seventh straight finish. He will look to keep it going against Denzel Freeman, who made good in his own UFC debut by defeating Marek Bujlo via unanimous decision in November.
Ateba Gautier and Andrey Pulyaev collide in a Middleweight showdown. Gautier has a record of 9-1 and is currently on an eight-fight win streak and is one of the hottest prospects on the UFC roster at the moment. As for Pulyaev, he is 1-1 so far inside the Octagon and is looking to secure his second straight win under the UFC banner by upsetting the man they call “Mini Ngannou.”
Umar Nurmagomedov is beginning his march back toward another title fight after coming up short against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311. He did bounce back with a win over against Mario Bautista, and a win over Deiveson Figueiredo — the former Flyweight champion — would be a good way back. “Daico,” meanwhile, snapped his two-fight losing streak after defeating Montel Jackson last October. If Nurmagomedov drops this one his path to reaching gold like most of his infamous team has done will take a big hit.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Alex Perez needs a win in the worst way if he wants to hang on to his spot on the roster because he has lost two straight and five of six overall. It’s a drastic downfall for the Mexican-born fighter after winning five of his first six bouts inside the Octagon. He has another tough task ahead of him in Charles Johnson, who is 5-1 in his last six fights.
Interest Level: 7.5/10
In the co-main event of the evening, Sean O’Malley will tango with Song Yadong. “Suga” is looking to erase the memory of his back-to-back beatdowns at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili. Despite being a UFC favorite — both by the promotion and fans — O’ Malley will have to prove he deserves to get back into the championship hunt, and it starts with taking out Yadong. Speaking of which, Yadong has a big opportunity to jump the line by taking out a former champion. He is 3-1 in his last four fights, so if he can get a win over O’ Malley he will definitely get bumped up a few spots and give him the right to call for a title fight.
Jean Silva had his momentum halted at the hands of Diego Lopes last September after being on the wrong end of a knockout defeat (see it again here). The loss snapped his 13-fight win streak, and sent him back to the drawing board. Now, he will attempt to get back into the win column when he goes up against Arnold Allen, who snapped his two-fight losing streak by defeating Giga Chikadze last summer.
In Heavyweight action, Derek Lewis returns to take on Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Lewis is currently on a two-fight win streak after knocking out Rodrigo Nascimento and Tallison Teixeira in back-to-back outings (video replays here and here). Cortes-Acosta, meanwhile, is on a two-fight win streak and has a big opportunity at hand to lock down one of the biggest wins of his career that can propel him up the 265-pound division. It’s now or never for “Black Beast” if he wants to make a case for another title shot.
I’ll be honest, I was expecting the promotion to come out of the gates throwing haymakers for it’s Paramount+ debut with a stacked card. I get it, the fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes fell through, but even with that one you would think bigger fights with bigger names would be the recipe to come out strong. The main event is decent, but let’s not act like it’s a mega-bout. I worry that now that there are no more PPV events that have to be purchased that the cards will be a bit watered down in an attempt to spread out the talent throughout the year.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC 324 Fight Card:
UFC 324 Main Event on Paramount+:
155 lbs.: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for interim lightweight title
UFC 324 Main Card on Paramount+ (9 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes — CANCELED (details here)
135 lbs.: Sean O’Malley vs. Yadong Song
265 lbs.: Derrick Lewis vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
125 lbs.: Rose Namajunas vs. Natalia Silva (not Alexa Grasso)
145 lbs.: Jean Silva vs. Arnold Allen
UFC 324 Late ‘Prelims’ Card On Paramount+ (7 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Umar Nurmagomedov vs Deiveson Figueiredo
185 lbs.: Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev
155 lbs.: Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez
205 lbs.: Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas
UFC 324 Early ‘Prelims’ Card On Paramount+, UFC Fight Pass (5 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: Alex Perez vs. Charles Johnson
265 lbs.: Josh Hokit vs. Denzel Freeman
135 lbs.: Ricky Turcios vs. Cameron Smotherman – CANCELED (details here)
170 lbs.: Ty Miller vs. Adam Fugitt
