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Gaethje And Pimblett Trade Words At Final Presser

Contributor ·23 January 2026

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Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett faced off ahead of their interim lightweight title clash at UFC 324, as part of their final presser.

Gaethje enters the Octagon looking to become a two-time interim champion and secure a path to the lightweight title held by Ilia Topuria. After a last-second knockout loss to Max Holloway in 2024, "The Highlight" successfully reset his career with a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev in March 2025.

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For the first time in his career, Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett has the chance to win a belt. He secured a third-round TKO of Michael Chandler in his last bout. In the chief support slot, former champion Sean O’Malley returns to face Song Yadong in a 135-pound clash. "Suga" has lost his last two bouts to Merab Dvalishvili, while Yadong is coming off a win over Henry Cejudo.

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Presser

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The Card

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

Co-Main Event: Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong (Bantamweight)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis (Heavyweight)

Natalia Silva vs. Rose Namajunas (Women’s Flyweight)

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Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva (Featherweight)

Preliminary Card

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight)

Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev (Middleweight)

Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas (heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">Light Heavyweight)

Alex Perez vs. Charles Johnson (Flyweight)