Main Card
- Justin Gaethje def. Paddy Pimblett via Decision, Unanimous (Vacant Interim UFC Lightweight Championship)
- Sean O’Malley def. Song Yadong via Decision, Unanimous
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Derrick Lewis via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:14)
- Natalia Silva def. Rose Namajunas via Decision, Unanimous
- Jean Silva def. Arnold Allen via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Deiveson Figueiredo via Decision, Unanimous
- Ateba Gautier def. Andrey Pulyaev via Decision, Unanimous
- Nikita Krylov def. Modestas Bukauskas via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:57)
- Alex Perez def. Charles Johnson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:16)
Early Prelims
- Josh Hokit def. Denzel Freeman via TKO, Retirement (RD 1, 4:59)
- Ty Miller def. Adam Fugitt via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:59)
The Paramount era for UFC opened on Saturday night with a five-round shootout between two of the lightweight division’s toughest sluggers.
Justin Gaethje consistently found a home for his boxing against an incredibly resilient Paddy Pimblett in the main event of UFC 324, earning him a vacant interim lightweight title and lining himself up for a potential fight with Ilia Topuria in the future. A clear unanimous decision win for Gaethje emerged in the end, closing out the evening from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
An aggressive Gaethje chased down Pimblett throughout 25 minutes of action, head-hunting with punches which dropped or at least wobbled the rising U.K. contender in numerous instances.
“My strategy was to put my head in his chest,” said Gaethje afterward, explaining his aggressive stand-up style during a post-fight interview.
But despite Gaethje’s powerful shots frequently landing, Pimblett rarely found himself in significant trouble. He left the cage on Saturday with enough bruising to prove that he got the worst of the championship fight, but at no point during the battle did it ever seem that the referee was weighing stepping in.
While two judges saw that Pimblett lost four of the rounds, the Liverpool-raised lightweight certainly had his moments. He was active off his backfoot with a wide variety of shots, chipping away at Gaethje’s legs with kicks and scoring knees when at close range. He snagged the third round on all three official scorecards, a frame where Gaethje’s output slipped, as the American seemingly started to struggle with his right hand, constantly fiddling with his gloves.
“I wanted to leave with that belt, but there’s no other man I’d rather lose to than ‘The Highlight,'” Pimblett said following his loss.
Saturday’s result begins a second interim title reign for Gaethje, putting him back into the title picture for the first time since 2020. The 37-year-old is now the first person to have two separate title reigns at lightweight, albeit both in an interim status.
Current champ Topuria is currently on the sidelines while battling with domestic abuse allegations, as revealed in a statement from the top 155-pound champ last month. The timeline for his return remains unclear at the moment.
Pimblett, one of UFC’s rising stars over the past five years, suffered his first loss in the promotion this weekend. He entered Saturday as a favorite in the fight, riding the momentum of wins over veteran talents like Michael Chandler and King Green.
