Tag: UFC 324

January 2026 is the month the UFC officially enters its new era. The Paramount+ transition is complete. The streaming platform is live. And the biggest fights are about to happen. Here’s everything you need to know about the UFC’s January schedule.

UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett

Saturday, January 24, 2026
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Live on Paramount+

This is it. The first major numbered event on Paramount+ and arguably the most important card of the early 2026 season. Everything here is significant.

Main Event: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett (Interim Lightweight Title)

The interim lightweight title is on the line, with the winner earning the next shot at reigning champion Ilia Topuria. Both Gaethje and Pimblett have been vocal about their desire to challenge Topuria, and this fight will settle the question definitively.

Gaethje is the veteran with elite wrestling and championship pedigree. He’s fought the best lightweights in the world and hasn’t backed down from anyone. His gas tank is legendary, and his ability to control pace and tempo is unmatched. A win puts him directly into a title fight.

Pimblett brings momentum, charisma, and a loyal fanbase that extends beyond MMA. The Liverpool native has been climbing the rankings with impressive victories. He’s younger than Gaethje and potentially entering his athletic prime. A win here would be the signature victory of his career.

Co-Main Event: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes (Women’s Bantamweight Title)

Amanda Nunes is coming out of retirement. Let that sink in. The fighter most people consider the greatest women’s MMA competitor of all time is putting on the gloves again to challenge Kayla Harrison for the bantamweight title.

This fight has backstory. Harrison and Nunes were teammates at the same gym. There’s history. There’s rivalry. And there’s the intriguing question of whether Nunes’ remarkable technical skills have diminished at all during her time away from competition.

Harrison is the defending champion and one of the most dominant fighters in the sport right now. She’s a heavy favorite in this matchup, but Nunes is Nunes. The striking, the grappling, the fight IQ—these don’t disappear. This could be the most compelling women’s fight of 2026.

Additional UFC 324 Main Card Bouts

Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva (Featherweight): Elite ranked featherweights colliding. Silva brings finishing ability and flashy striking. Allen brings technical depth and wrestling. Divisional implications are huge here.

Derrick Lewis vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta (Heavyweight): The heavyweight division always delivers fireworks, and Lewis has been vocal about perceiving disrespect from oddsmakers. This should be a war.

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight): Championship pedigree meets rising contender in a bantamweight battle that will influence divisional positioning.

Sean O’Malley vs. Yadong Song (Bantamweight): The former champion faces a fighter hungry for a title shot. Song has made his intentions clear. O’Malley has the experience but needs to prove he’s still dangerous after time away.

UFC 325: Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2

Saturday, January 31, 2026 (technically very early February)
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
Live on Paramount+

Just one week after UFC 324, the promotion returns to Sydney, Australia, for UFC 325. The featherweight championship rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes is the main event.

Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 (Featherweight Title)

Volkanovski is a future hall of famer defending his belt against Diego Lopes in a rematch. The first fight between these two was competitive, and the second chapter profiles as a technical chess match between two elite strikers.

Volkanovski brings championship experience, elite wrestling, and the credentials of being one of the best featherweights in UFC history. Lopes brings a hungry challenger’s mentality and striking that’s earned him a second crack at the title.

This is quality featherweight action at its finest. Volkanovski will be the favorite, but Lopes has every chance to pull off the upset on the biggest stage.

The Broader Context: A Stacked January

What makes January 2026 so significant isn’t just that UFC 324 and 325 are strong cards—it’s that they’re bookending the month and establishing the tone for the entire year. The Paramount+ platform gets tested with two major numbered events in a single week. The streaming infrastructure needs to hold up. The fights need to deliver. The viewership numbers need to justify the massive investment.

For fight fans, it’s straightforward: two great cards, packed with compelling matchups, broadcast on your Paramount+ subscription. No PPV fees. No additional charges. Just great fights.

Looking Beyond January

While UFC 324 and 325 are the headline acts for January, it’s worth noting what comes next:

UFC Houston (February 21): Sean Strickland vs. Anthony Hernandez headlines this card at Toyota Center in Houston.

UFC 326 (March 7): A numbered event in Las Vegas that was supposed to feature Paulo Costa vs. Brunno Ferreira in a middleweight bout, though Costa has since withdrawn.

UFC London (March): Lerone Murphy has predicted he’ll return here, with possible matchups against top featherweight contenders like Aljamain Sterling or Movsar Evloev.

UFC Seattle (March 28): The promotion heads to the Pacific Northwest with a card at Climate Pledge Arena.

But all of that is secondary to what January represents. This is the month the new era truly begins. This is when Paramount+ proves it can deliver. This is when the 2026 season establishes itself as something special.

Final Thoughts

January 2026 will be remembered as the month that defined the entire year. Two elite numbered events, blockbuster matchups, incredible depth across multiple divisions, and the debut of the sport’s new distribution model. Whether you’re a casual fan tuning in for Gaethje vs. Pimblett or a hardcore viewer planning your entire month around both cards, January is unmissable.

Mark your calendars. Get your Paramount+ subscription sorted. And prepare for one of the most compelling months in recent UFC history.

The year has just begun, and the sport has never looked better.

When UFC 324 kicks off on January 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it won’t just be another title fight. It will be the official debut card of the Paramount+ era—the first major numbered event on the sport’s new streaming home. The significance is layered: a new distribution model, a blockbuster fight card, and the start of what Dana White has promised will be an ambitious 2026 schedule.

And what a card to launch with. Gaethje vs. Pimblett for the interim lightweight title is exactly the kind of compelling, high-stakes matchup needed to set the tone for the new era.

The Main Event: A Lightweight Showdown

Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett have both made no secret of their ambitions. The winner of their interim title fight will be next in line to face reigning lightweight champion Ilia Topuria—a fighter who has dominated the division with knockout power and elite wrestling. For both Gaethje and Pimblett, this is the defining moment of their careers so far.

Gaethje, the former interim champ, brings elite wrestling and a gas tank that’s earned him the respect of the entire division. He’s a calculated striker who’s learned to balance his aggressive nature with technical precision. A win here puts him directly into a title fight with Topuria, his pathway forward crystal clear.

Pimblett, the Liverpool native with the loyal fanbase and personality that transcends the sport, has climbed the rankings with impressive performances. He’s hungry, confident, and fighting in a new era where the entire sport’s attention might actually be on the Paramount+ platform. There’s an underdog energy to Pimblett’s pursuit of this moment.

The fight itself profiles as a battle between Gaethje’s veteran savvy and Pimblett’s rising momentum. Both are elite lightweights. Both deserve this opportunity. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

The Co-Main Event: Amanda Nunes Returns

If Gaethje vs. Pimblett is the future of the sport, then Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes is the present colliding with the past. Nunes, widely considered the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, is coming out of retirement to challenge Harrison for the bantamweight title.

Nunes hasn’t fought since 2023. She’s been retired. But the chance to reclaim gold and cement her legacy was apparently too compelling to resist. Harrison, who’s held the bantamweight title and established herself as a dominant force in the division, will be tested against one of the most technically proficient strikers and grapplers the sport has ever seen.

This is the kind of blockbuster co-main event that validates why the UFC invested so heavily in the Paramount+ partnership. You can’t buy this kind of star power. Nunes’ return is a cultural moment in women’s MMA.

The Supporting Cast

UFC 324 doesn’t stop there. The main card also features:

Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva (Featherweight): Elite ranked featherweights colliding at the top of a increasingly competitive division. Silva has shown explosive finishing ability. Allen brings technical depth. This is a fight that could determine divisional positioning heading into the rest of 2026.

Derrick Lewis vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta (Heavyweight): The heavyweight division has always been a wildcard, and Lewis demands respect despite his willingness to be vocal about perceived slights. Lewis recently demanded an investigation after bookmakers made him the underdog against Cortes Acosta—a remarkable bit of transparency about how the sport can feel rigged from inside the fighter’s perspective. This heavyweight collision will be explosive.

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight): Nurmagomedov continues his climb up the 135-pound rankings. Figueiredo brings championship pedigree. The bantamweight division is absolutely stacked in 2026, and this fight helps sort out where everyone ranks.

Sean O’Malley vs. Yadong Song (Bantamweight): The former bantamweight champion O’Malley faces Song, who’s openly stated his expectation that a win here puts him in position for a title shot. O’Malley has been the subject of recent internet jokes (his forehead tattoo was reportedly fake, which spawned surprisingly creative discourse), but inside the octagon, he remains dangerous. Song wants to prove he’s the future of the division.

The Context: Bantamweight Depth

One of the most compelling stories of UFC 324 isn’t just the individual fights—it’s what they collectively reveal about the bantamweight division’s absurd depth. Harrison, O’Malley, Song, Nurmagomedov, and countless others are all competing at an elite level. The 135-pound weight class is where the best fights in the sport happen right now.

The Larger Narrative

UFC 324 is also the first real test of whether the Paramount+ transition will work. The infrastructure is new. The streaming platform needs to perform flawlessly. The promotional machine needs to drive viewership numbers that justify the massive investment TKO made in this deal.

For fight fans, it’s simple: this is a card worth your attention. For the UFC, it’s a moment that will set the tone for the entire year. And for Paramount+, it’s the moment when the world finds out if they can handle the responsibility of hosting the sport’s biggest moments.

January 24 can’t come soon enough.