Gaethje vs Pimblett: Preview of the UFC 324 main event

UFC 324 lands in Las Vegas with a strange mix of familiar faces and first-time energy. Justin Gaethje is back in a title fight, while Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett is finally getting the spotlight his ego has been chasing for years. They headline Saturday, January 24, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena, and they do it with an interim lightweight title at stake, in the first numbered UFC event of the new Paramount+ broadcast era.

What to expect from the Gaethje vs Pimblett fight

On paper, this is the classic UFC crossroads narrative: the proven veteran fighter against the momentum of the contender who’s learned how to win ugly when he needs to.

Gaethje, 37 and with a 26-5 record, arrives with the kind of resume that doesn’t need marketing. A nine-time Fight of the Night winner and a five-time Performance of the Night winner, Gaethje has a habit of turning difficult matchups into one of the best shows of the UFC year. On the other side of the octagon, Pimblett is 31, 23-3, and heavily motivated: this is his first real chance to validate the idea that he belongs in the elite lightweight conversation.

Stylistically, the differences are pretty relevant. Gaethje’s output is built for violence: looking at the stat snapshot, he sits at 6.59 strikes landed per minute, a number that shows both pace and comfort in extended exchanges. Pimblett’s profile is very different, however, as he’s more of an opportunist on the mat, with a far higher submission rate (1.68 subs per 15 minutes), plus a takedown-attempt frequency that signals he won’t be shy about changing levels when the moment arrives.

The early minutes should tell the story of the fight. If Gaethje is able to plant his feet, chop the legs, and keep Pimblett at the end of punishing combinations, the fight could be a tough welcome to the “top five” nights for Pimblett. But if the Briton is able to get Gaethje reacting (feinting entries, threatening in the clinch, making every exchange end with a grab), he turns it into the kind of messy, exhausting bout where one slip becomes a back take.

The psychological game is real in this fight. For now, both men are talking like they expect consequences. Pimblett has leaned into the idea that this will be a damaging night for Gaethje, promising the veteran “won’t be physically the same” afterward. And Gaethje, speaking openly about the back end of his career, has discussed wanting to retire by 2027, framing this as part of a final push toward undisputed gold.

That’s why the interim belt matters beyond the hardware: it’s not just “Gaethje’s last run” or “Pimblett’s arrival.” It’s about who gets to sit at the front of the line when the division’s champion is ready to return.

Where to watch the UFC 324 fight

Here’s the part that matters if you’re watching from Canada: Sportsnet is the home of the UFC in Canada, and UFC 324 is carried through Sportsnet+, with the main card available as a separate PPV purchase (Sportsnet notes you don’t need a Sportsnet+ subscription to buy the PPV, but a subscription does include PPV prelims and UFC Fight Nights).

Canadian start times

UFC 324 has an earlier-than-old-PPV norm main card start: the main card starts at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, with prelims at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, and early prelims at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Converted across Canada:

• Newfoundland (NST): Early prelims 6:30 p.m., prelims 8:30 p.m., main card 10:30 p.m.
• Atlantic (AST): Early prelims 6:00 p.m., prelims 8:00 p.m., main card 10:00 p.m.
• Eastern (ET – Toronto/Montreal/Ottawa): Early prelims 5:00 p.m., prelims 7:00 p.m., main card 9:00 p.m.
• Central (CT – Winnipeg): Early prelims 4:00 p.m., prelims 6:00 p.m., main card 8:00 p.m.
• Mountain (MT – Calgary/Edmonton): Early prelims 3:00 p.m., prelims 5:00 p.m., main card 7:00 p.m.
• Pacific (PT – Vancouver/Victoria): Early prelims 2:00 p.m., prelims 4:00 p.m., main card 6:00 p.m.

What to do between fights

In long events like this, even if the wait between fights is not that long, there is a lot of downtime. And, if we take into account that there are four hours between the early prelims and the main card, it is easy to get bored with the less interesting fights. That’s where smartphones can be a helping hand, as you can take those cooldown minutes to check main-event predictions, to play online casino games with MMA-related themes, to have a look at the stats of the fights you’re looking for, or to check what social media is expecting from the duel.

Ilia Topuria and other fighters weigh in on the fight

If the matchup itself is a style clash, the fighter verdicts around it are a full-on split decision.

One camp is backing Gaethje for the reasons you’d expect: experience, proven five-round toughness, and the idea that Pimblett hasn’t lived at that level of danger yet. In that bucket, we find names like Dustin Poirier, Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker, Eddie Alvarez and Khalil Rountree, largely citing Gaethje’s power and resume in big-fight moments.

Tsarukyan’s comments have also been the least subtle in that regard. “I hope it’s Gaethje, because I don’t like Paddy,” he told Demetrious Johnson. It wasn’t a technical breakdown, but it does underline that there is a chunk of the lightweight elite that treats Pimblett as an outsider until he proves otherwise.

However, there is another champ buying Pimblett’s rise. Ilia Topuria is among those picking the Briton for the fight, and he’s not alone: Sean O’Malley, Alexander Volkanovski, Arnold Allen, Tony Ferguson, and Demetrious Johnson also pick him. The reasoning there is consistent: Pimblett’s momentum is real, his grappling threat changes the geometry of every exchange, and if Gaethje gives him even a small scramble opening, Pimblett has shown he can cash it.

All of this lands back on the same core question: is Pimblett’s best path to victory reliable enough against a man who punishes every mistake, or is Gaethje’s violence too consistent over five rounds? The verdicts are split because the fight is split: clean striking vs. messy grappling, veteran damage vs. younger opportunism, the known commodity vs. the bet.