UFC 324: 3 burning questions ahead of fight night in Las Vegas

The brand new Paramount+ era gets underway for the UFC on Saturday night, as UFC 324 kicks off the promotion’s 2026 event schedule.

Ahead of fight night, RDX Sports‘ Editor-in-Chief Simon Head offers up some burning questions that we’ll hopefully get answers to as the action unfolds at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

Is Paddy Pimblett the real deal?

Throughout his career, Paddy Pimblett has been constantly underrated. His larger-than-life personality has seen him become a lightning rod for opinion, good and bad, with some pointing to his strength of schedule as a reason to doubt him, while others prefer to point to his clear improvement fight to fight as he has risen up the ranks.

Regardless of which side of the fence you find yourself in that argument, it’s universally agreed that Saturday’s fight with Justin Gaethje represents the biggest, and toughest, fight in Pimblett’s career to date.

“The Highlight” is battle-tested against the very best in the sport, he’s held interim championship gold before, as well as the BMF title. And his reputation as one of the most destructive forces in the lightweight division is well deserved.

For Pimblett to win against Gaethje, he’ll have to walk through the fire, and while he’s adamant that he’s made of the right stuff, the proof won’t come until it happens on Saturday night.

Is Paddy the real deal at 155 pounds? We’re about to find out.

Does Sean O’Malley have another title run in him?

When Sean O’Malley exploded into the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series, it seemed as if he was on the fast track to the top. That run culminated in him capturing the undisputed bantamweight title, and it seemed as if the UFC had a bonafide superstar in the making.

But, rather than dominating the division, O’Malley’s title reign was shortlived. After one successful title defense, he was dominated by Merab Dvalishvili as he lost his belt at UFC 306. Then, when he attempted to get revenge and recapture the title in the rematch at UFC 316, O’Malley was defeated again by the Georgian, this time by submission.

Now, after six months away, O’Malley is back, and ready to show the latest iteration of “The Sugar Show” when he takes on Chinese contender Song Yadong in the co-main event of UFC 324.

His boxing is as sharp as anyone in a set of MMA gloves, and his ability to connect from range could prove crucial against Song, who is powerful and well-rounded.

If he can defeat Song, another title shot might not be too far away. And if he’s build on the lessons learned from his two losses to Dvalisvili, a second title reign might not be out of the question.

Will the Waldo Cortes-Acosta bandwagon keep rolling?

Few fighters ever have a year as incredible as Waldo Cortes-Acosta enjoyed in 2025. The fact that the Dominican heavyweight fought five times in a calendar year is amazing enough in itself, but throw in the knowledge that he won four of them, and his year becomes even more notable.

Now Cortes-Acosta finds himself ranked fifth in the UFC heavyweight division, and faces the formidable task of taking on eighth-ranked knockout artist Derrick Lewis, who remains the single most dangerous puncher in the UFC.

“The Black Beast” has the all-time record for the most knockouts in the UFC, and has the ability to flatline anyone with one punch. He’s planning on getting “Salsa Boy” out of there in short order, but Cortes-Acosta will look to manage the distance smartly and work his openings carefully against such a dangerous finisher.

If Cortes-Acosta can defeat Lewis, a title eliminator fight could be next.