UFC 324 might be down a big fight, but Renato Moicano knows just who to call to keep the card on track.
The always reliable Alex Pereira.
Moicano made the bold suggestion in a YouTube reaction video to the disappointing news that bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison has been forced to withdraw from her UFC 324 co-main event bout opposite Amanda Nunes Harrison is set to undergo surgery for a neck injury and is expected to be out of action for several months with a potential rescheduling still to be determined.
Currently, UFC 324 is still set to be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett. Moicano doesn’t think that’s enough for the UFC’s first-ever event on Paramount+ and that the promotion needs “Poatan” to make a splash.
“And it wasn’t just the Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes fight that fell through, the whole UFC 324 might be in jeopardy because in my opinion this guy [Pimblett] shouldn’t even be fighting for a title, and this fight doesn’t hold up a $7 billion deal that needs to impress fans in the first half of 2026,” Moicano said (Portuguese translation via MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz).
“A lot of people are criticizing Paramount for buying the UFC rights for $7 billion. Dana White said he’s under insane pressure, and with Amanda Nunes’ fight falling apart, what’s left on this card that’s truly spectacular? Absolutely nothing. Sure, it’s a fight I want to see, Justin Gaethje vs. [Paddy Pimblett], but just that fight alone, I don’t know if it keeps UFC 324 standing. And who are they going to have to call to save UFC 324? In my mind, the one who’s going to save UFC 324 is the man. It’s not the first time he’s done it, and he’ll do it again, and this time it’ll be at heavyweight. … [Pereira] will take this fight on just a few weeks’ notice and will become the UFC heavyweight champion, doing something that’s never been done.”
Following the conclusion of its contract with ESPN, the UFC moved on to a multi-billion dollar deal with Paramount for all of their events to stream live on Paramount+. The UFC’s pay-per-view model is now a thing of the past and Paramount is relying heavily on subscribers to generate profits.
Moicano warned the UFC that it needs to appeal to a broad audience and not just the hardcores and that might mean bringing in Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight champion.
“Paramount needs to get that money back,” Moicano. “How are they going to do it? Through subscriptions. And how are people going to subscribe? When there are big names fighting. Me, you, the degenerate bastard will subscribe to any random UFC card just to watch Paddy Pimblett. You will. But what about the general public? Those people aren’t going to buy it just to see Paddy Pimblett. It has to be a name like Pereira, like [Ilia] Topuria, like [Khamzat] Chimaev, and they’re trying to negotiate. And in my view—listen to what I’m telling you, Pereira will take this fight and he will beat Ciryl Gane.
“That’s what I think is going to happen. And what backs up what I’m saying? Dana White went live yesterday, and earlier in the day he said, ‘We’ll have some fights, we’ll have some announcements.’ Everyone was waiting. Absolutely everyone was expecting Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane. And what did they announce? [Israel] Adesanya vs. [Joe] Pyfer. Bro, honestly, who cares about that fight? Another fight they announced? [Alexa] Grasso vs. [Maycee] Barber 2. Who cares about those two fights? The truth is, nobody cares.”
UFC CEO Dana White teased a major announcement Tuesday, later making a main event matchup between former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Joe Pyfer official for UFC Seattle on March 28. The response to the announcement was subdued and Moicano wonders if White intended to break bigger news.
“So what I think happened is this: Dana was ready to announce a fight, something must have gone wrong, Kayla Harrison called and it looks like she already went into surgery— she trains at American Top Team but I don’t know anything—and he had to scramble and pull out a fight that was probably already in the paperwork,” Moicano said. “‘Just throw that fight out there, we’re screwed.’ That’s what happened. They used it as a lifeboat because the fight that was supposed to be announced should have been Pereira vs. Ciryl for UFC 327, if I’m not mistaken, for March. But now they’re going to want to make that fight happen immediately. It’s [Pereira], my brother, he’s going to save this.
“And if I were in his position and Dana White called me I’d say, ‘Look, brother, let’s talk. I’ll save you, for sure. I want to be champion. Heavyweight, no doubt. But I heard a story that you made $7 billion. So you’re going to have to dig into your pocket, baldy. There’s no way around it. If you want to laugh, you’ve got to make people laugh.’ And that’s exactly what Pereira is doing, he’s farming aura.”
TOP STORIES
Out. Kayla Harrison has been forced to withdraw from her co-main event matchup with the returning Amanda Nunes at UFC 324.
End. Justin Gaethje knows he’s closing in on the final fight of his storied career.
Name. Dana White announced that the UFC APEX is now the Meta APEX going forward.
Disagree. Jiri Prochazka doesn’t believe his Comeback of the Year win over Khalil Rountree was actually a comeback.
VIDEO STEW
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew react to disappointing UFC 324 news.
ICYMI: The Jiu-Jitsu Golden Globes.
Daniel Cormier reacts to UFC 324 change.
Q&A with Dominick Cruz.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Stop it, Tim.
Oooooh.
“Maverick” is back.
Don’t even need it back.
Man with a plan.
Safety first, please!
FINAL THOUGHTS
UFC 324 looks fiiiiiiiine, no need to do anything drastic. It’s definitely losing some star power with the co-main event down, but the card is rock solid top to bottom. So as fans, we should still be feeling pretty good about the first UFC event of the year.
If you’re Paramount? I’d be a little more concerned because even though the UFC has been consistent content for the past few years, you definitely don’t want your grand debut to land with a thud.
Let’s see if White and co. try to weave some magic with the event a little over a week away.
EXIT POLL
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