Paddy Pimblett’s next fight confirmed as Dana White announces blockbuster UFC 324 card

Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje will headline the first major UFC event of 2026.

The lightweight titans will duke it out at UFC 324 on January 24, live from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

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Fight fans won’t have to wait long for the next numbered event either, as Alexander Volkanovski will face off against Diego Lopes for the featherweight championship at UFC 325 in Sydney, Australia on January 31.

Volkanovski undoubtedly hopes to put on a similar performance to when he out-pointed Lopes to win the vacant featherweight title in Miami last April.

Gaethje and Pimblett’s bout is one that carries massive implications for the 155lbs division following the recent news that reigning champion Ilia Topuria will be taking a hiatus from the sport.

The Spaniard confirmed on social media that he won’t be competing until after the first quarter of 2026 while he resolves a ‘difficult moment’ in his personal life.

With Topuria sidelined, UFC president Dana White confirmed on Thursday that Pimblett and Gaethje will compete for the interim lightweight title, with the winner to face the Spaniard.

Also featuring on the bumper card is a showdown between women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes.

Harrison is unbeaten since she moved to the UFC from PFL in 2024, with the Olympic gold medallist recording wins over Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira and Julianna Pena.

As for Nunes, the bout against Harrison marks her return to the octagon having last fought in June 2023.

Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is another name on the card as he takes on Song Yadong.

O’Malley is searching for his first victory since March 2024, with the flashy 31-year-old dropping back-to-back defeats to Merab Dvalishvili.

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That’s not the only high-level bantamweight scrap on the UFC 324 card either, as Deiveson Figueiredo faces Umar Nurmagomedov.

More to follow…