After a six-week break, the UFC is back with UFC 324, its debut event on Paramount+. UFC 324 is taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Main Card starting at 9:00 p.m. ET, one hour earlier than the usual start time. Former Interim and BMF Champion Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje is back to take on No. 5 Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett in the Main Event for the Interim Lightweight title.
Justin Gaethje is a former BMF and Interim champion. But he is still after the sport’s biggest prize: Undisputed Gold. This is the first step towards that goal; most likely, this will be his last chance to earn a shot at the sport’s biggest prize. Gaethje last beat Rafael Riziev at UFC 313 in March 2025 and has won three of his last four bouts. “The Highlight” is 1-2 in Undisputed and Interim title fights in the UFC.
But he is going up against one of the best rising stars in the UFC, Paddy Pimblett, who is a polarizing character with his confident and cocky personality, but Pimblett always delivers when that bell rings. When Pimblett’s music plays, his energy radiates off every person in the audience. Pimblett is 7-0 in the UFC and hasn’t suffered a loss since September 2018. As he has fought tougher competition, Pimblett has continued to elevate his game. Pimblett submitted King Green in the first round and knocked out Michael Chandler in the third round in his last two fights.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Pimblett is a -230 favorite while Gaethje is a +190 underdog. This fight is -360 to not go the distance and +240 to go the full five rounds. Pimblett is +350 to win by knockout, while Gaethje is +400 to win by KO/TKO/DQ.
Kayla Harrison was originally set to defend her Women’s Bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes in the co-main event of this card. But the fight was postponed to a later date after Harrison underwent neck surgery. The new co-main event of UFC 324 features former UFC Bantamweight Champion No. 3 Sean O’Malley against No. 5 Song Yadong. O’Malley is currently on a two-fight losing streak, with his last two losses coming against Merab Dvalishvili. “Suga” last won a fight against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in March 2024. Yadong is 3-1 in his previous four fights, with his last win being against former two-division title holder Henry Cejudo. O’Malley is a -205 favorite with Yadong being a +170 underdog.
No. 5 Waldo Cortes-Acosta takes on No. 8 Derrick Lewis in a three-round Heavyweight bout. Cortes-Acosta had an incredible 2025 as he finished the year with a 4-1 record with three knockouts. But now Cortes-Acosta faces Lewis, who is on a two-fight knockout streak at UFC 324. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Cortes-Acosta is -355 while Lewis is a +280 underdog.
The second fight of the UFC 324 Main Card is No. 2 Natalia Silva vs. former champion No. 6 Rose Namajunas. Silva is 19-5-1 with 12 finishes and has won 13 fights in a row. Her opponent, Namajunas, beat Miranda Maverick in her last bout in June 2025. The winner of this fight could be Valentina Shevchenko’s next challenger. The former champion is the underdog at +300 while Silva is a -280 favorite in this contest.
The UFC 324 Main Card opens with an exciting Featherweight contest between No. 6 Arnold Allen vs. No. 10 Jean Silva. This is Allen’s first fight since he beat Giga Chikadze at UFC 304 in July 2024, while Silva’s last appearance was at Noche UFC in September 2025 against Diego Lopes. Silva is coming off his first loss since 2018 and was previously on a 13-fight winning streak from November 2018 to April 2025. In this fight, Silva from the Fighting Nerds is a -258 favorite as Allen is a +210 underdog.
This week’s UFC 324 event airs live on Paramount+ at 9:00 p.m. ET. The Early Prelims for this event begin at 5:00 p.m. ET, with the Prelims starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Main Card
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| #4 Justin Gaethje vs. #5 Paddy Pimblett Main Event: UFC Interim Lightweight Title Fight | 26-5 (9-5 UFC) vs. 23-3 (7-0 UFC) | Lightweight | +190 vs. -230 |
| #3 Sean O’Malley vs. #5 Song Yadong | 18-3 (10-3 UFC) vs. 22-8-1 (11-3-1 UFC) | Bantamweight | -205 vs. +170 |
| #5 Waldo Cortes Acosta vs. #8 Derrick Lewis | 16-2 (9-2 UFC) vs. 29-12 (20-10 UFC) | Heavyweight | -325 vs. +260 |
| #2 Natalia Silva vs. #6 Rose Namajunas | 19-5-1 (7-0 UFC) vs. 14-7 (12-6 UFC) | W Flyweight | -380 vs. +300 |
| #6 Arnold Allen vs. #10 Jean Silva | 20-3 (11-2 UFC) vs. 16-3 (5-1 UFC) | Featherweight | +210 vs. -258 |
Prelims
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| #2 Umar Nurmagomedov vs. #6 Deiveson Figueiredo | 19-1 (7-1 UFC) vs. 25-5-1 (14-5-1 UFC) | Bantamweight | -1450 vs. +850 |
| Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev | 9-1 (3-0 UFC) vs. 10-3 (1-1 UFC) | Middleweight | -900 vs. +600 |
| #13 Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas | 30-11 (11-9 UFC) vs. 19-6 (7-4 UFC) | Light Heavyweight | +124 vs. -148 |
Early Prelims
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| #11 Alex Perez vs. #13 Charles Johnson | 25-10 (7-6 UFC) vs. 18-7 (7-5 UFC) | Flyweight | +142 vs. -170 |
| Josh Hokit vs. Denzel Freeman | 7-0 (1-0 UFC) vs. 7-1 (1-0 UFC) | Heavyweight | -225 vs. +185 |
| Adam Fugitt vs. Ty Miller | 10-5 (2-3 UFC) vs. 6-0 | Welterweight | +350 vs. -455 |
