Justin Gaethje has been a top-ranked Lightweight slugger for a decade now.
Even prior to his 2017 UFC debut — a wild shellacking of Michael Johnson — Gaethje was the WSOF Lightweight champion with multiple title defenses to his name. In 10 years of consistent competition against world-class talent, Gaethje has never shied away from a scrap. This weekend (Sat., Jan. 24, 2026), he’ll jump into the fire once more opposite rising contender Paddy Pimblett in the main event of UFC 324.
Once again, there’s
interim gold on the line.
This is hardly Gaethje’s first time fighting for UFC gold of some variety. He actually won the interim Lightweight belt previously when he bludgeoned Tony Ferguson in 2020. Afterward, Gaethje twice lost in opportunities to capture the undisputed crown, but he did then win (and then lose) the Lightweight BMF belt. Put simply, Gaethje is no stranger to title fights or five-round bookings, and he’s faced an exceptional amount of elite talent in his 31-fight professional career.
The same cannot be said for Paddy Pimblett. He has a bit of five-round experience from his Cage Warriors days, but “The Baddy” didn’t start facing truly elite competition until … this coming Saturday? Despite this being his 14th year as a professional, Pimblett is the relative young gun in this matchup, the up-and-comer with something to prove.
There’s a clear generational divide here even if the two have a similar total number of fights. Back when Gaethje was establishing himself as an all-time great action fighter and taking lumps at the hands of Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, Pimblett was still figuring out his proper weight class and struggling at the upper levels of Cage Warriors competition.
The tide is always shifting in combat sports. Just a couple years ago, Gaethje would have been favored massively here. Instead, he enters as an underdog despite having won three of his last four bouts. Pimblett has the momentum on his side, and part of that push is a result of beating multiple members of Gaethje’s generation in his current run. If Pimblett could easily stop Michael Chandler, Bobby Green, and Tony Ferguson — three Lightweights who peaked in a similar era to “The Highlight” — why can’t he beat up one more?
There are very few of Gaethje’s peers hanging around the upper echelons of 155-pounds nowadays. Dustin Poirier is retired for good, while Eddie Alvarez is still signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), which is sort of like Valhalla for UFC action stars. Of those who remain — the Edson Barboza’s and Michael Johnson’s — they’re generally outside of the rankings, on undercards, and losing as often as they win. The only debatable exceptions are Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway, a pair of athletes who joined the UFC roster at an exceptionally young age and thus have enjoyed unusual longevity.
This shift is somewhat overdue, but we’ve seen in recent years that the old guard is reluctant to step away from their Top 10 positions. Men like Benoit Saint Denis, Mateusz Gamrot, and Rafael Fiziev were supposed to take over but have been repelled on more than one occasion. There has been no sudden watershed moment, only a gradual chipping away at the established rank until few remain.
Gaethje is still here, and in a self-admitted do-or-die matchup at UFC 324, he’ll attempt to buck the trend once more.
