The UFC issued a series of announcements on Thursday for its first set of shows in the new year, launching on Paramount+.
UFC CEO Dana White appeared during halftime of the Kansas City Chiefs-Dallas Cowboys game and went live on Instagram to share the top fights for the January 24 launch on Paramount+. It was followed by a press release listing the updated card.
UFC 324 – Saturday, January 24:
- Interim Lightweight Championship: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett
- Women’s Bantamweight Championship: Kayla Harrison © vs. Amanda Nunes
- Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
- Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva
- Derrick Lewis vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Alexa Grasso vs. Rose Namajunas
- Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas
- Andrey Pulayev vs. Ateba Gautier
The interim championship is being introduced because lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has said he is not fighting in the first quarter: “I’m going through a difficult moment in my personal life. I want to focus on my children and resolve this situation as soon as possible. I don’t want to hold up the division. The UFC will make the matchups needed, and as soon as the matters are resolved, I’ll let the UFC know I’m ready to begin my return.”
Dana White stated the winner of the interim title fight will face Topuria.
The January 24 event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will see Amanda Nunes come out of retirement for one of the biggest fights in women’s MMA history.
Nunes, 37, last fought in June 2023 and retired as bantamweight champion with a 23-5 record. Nunes and Harrison are former training partners at American Top Team, with Harrison amassing a 19-1 record and winning the 135-pound title this past June from Julianna Pena.
The UFC will return one week later with another numbered event as UFC 325 takes place on January 31 from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
The show will air the same day as WWE’s Royal Rumble from Saudi Arabia and features Alexander Volkanovski defending the featherweight championship against Diego Lopes. The two fought this past April, with Volkanovski defeating Lopes by unanimous decision for the vacant 145-pound belt.
In addition, the launch on Paramount+ will see the UFC move its pay-per-view start time to 9 p.m. ET beginning with UFC 324. The preliminary card airs at 7 p.m. and the early prelims at 5 p.m.
The UFC attempted the earlier start time in 2011 but quickly moved back to 10 p.m. ET.
