The first UFC occasion of 2026 kicked off the brand new cope with Paramount in an enormous means on Saturday when UFC 324 went down from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The landmark occasion led to spectacular vogue with Justin Gaethje defeating Paddy Pimblett to seize the interim light-weight championship right away traditional.
The night time was stuffed with large moments and spectacular performances that arrange what needs to be a large yr within the Octagon.
Among those that got here away with large wins apart from Gaethje had been Sean O’Malley, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Natalia Silva. However, Pimblett additionally walked away as a winner after his gutsy efficiency in defeat towards Gaethje.
UFC 324: Paddy Pimblett elevates his standing in defeat after unimaginable show of coronary heart and resilience
Shakiel Mahjouri
With that in thoughts, we took a have a look at a number of the biggest takeaways from UFC 324. Let’s get into it.
Gaethje is at his greatest fighting on instinct
Justin Gaethje is interim light-weight champion as soon as once more, and he owes all of it to fighting the best way that made him one of many sport’s hottest fighters. In current years, Gaethje has tried to battle with extra of a strategic and tactical thoughts. That all went out the window towards Paddy Pimblett on Saturday night time. When Pimblett started to circulate offensively, tagging Gaethje with flurries of crisp pictures, Gaethje reverted to his outdated self, throwing down and assembly fireplace with fireplace. And Gaethje’s fireplace has energy few can match, as evidenced by the repeated knockdowns of Pimblett. When Gaethje is fighting instinctively, his opponents must deliver their sport to a whole new degree and go to locations few different opponents can take them. That’s why Gaethje is heading dwelling with UFC gold.
“Yeah, my coach was definitely upset with me after the first round,” Gaethje mentioned of Saturday’s efficiency. “I just love this shit so much, it’s really hard to control myself sometimes.”
Pimblett could have received in defeat
Sure, being an interim champion is healthier than any type of ethical victory, however Pimblett has lots to be proud about. Very few males can stand as much as 5 rounds of Gaethje’s energy. Pimblett confirmed the sort of coronary heart and toughness that is not in a position to be taught, it is one thing a fighter both has or would not. Pimblett confronted some criticism for not “deserving” a shot at an interim title, however he proved he belongs within the Octagon with the very best of the very best. Even as issues had been going unhealthy, Pimblett by no means stopped attempting to win and continued to hit Gaethje with clear punches, kicks and knees.
Pimblett was one half of an on the spot traditional and anybody who says they did not achieve respect for the Liverpool, England native is mendacity. As Pimblett as soon as mentioned, “Scousers don’t get knocked out.” What was as soon as a cheeky saying all of a sudden feels as if it is perhaps rooted in actuality.
Sean O’Malley shoots himself again into title rivalry
O’Malley entered Saturday having misplaced back-to-back championship fights to Merab Dvalishvili. It was solely honest to marvel if O’Malley merely ran right into a fighter who had his quantity, or if his time on the prime of the bantamweight division was over shortly after it started. Against Song Yadong, O’Malley took a affected person, skilled strategy, not forcing the problem towards a harmful striker in an try to show one thing bigger than may be proven in a single spherical. By the third spherical, O’Malley was rolling, tagging Yadong with quite a lot of strikes and asserting his dominance. With the win, O’Malley is true again in title rivalry, although he’ll have to attend for the rematch between Dvalishvili and the person who defeated him to win the title, Petr Yan. O’Malley already holds a break up resolution win over Yan, making for a sexy title alternative if Yan wins the trilogy with Dvalishvili.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Natalia Silva make their title rivalry instances
Cortes-Acosta confronted a severe take a look at and one of many biggest stars within the UFC when he took on Derrick Lewis. Cortes-Acosta pitched a near-shutout towards the UFC file holder for many knockouts, choosing spots to drill Lewis with heavy leg kicks and straight punches till Lewis had nothing left and ended up on the bottom, seemingly giving up as Cortes-Acosta pounded away with strikes to drive the stoppage. In a heavyweight division in flux with champion Tom Aspinall sidelined for the foreseeable future as a result of eye accidents suffered towards Cyril Gane, Cortes-Acosta made a stable case for an interim title shot.
As for Silva, it was already said {that a} win over Rose Namajunas would earn her a title shot. Namajunas made it tough, forcing Silva to scrap for each little bit of floor. In the tip, Silva received the battle by unanimous resolution, choosing up a 3rd consecutive victory over a former UFC champion. Now, Silva can look ahead to the problem of going through Valentina Schevchenko for the ladies’s flyweight championship.
