After a relaxing holiday break, the UFC brings the action once more to the biggest stage in combat sports with its groundbreaking first event of 2026, UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. Set to premiere on the company’s newest broadcast partner, Paramount Plus, the show will be headlined by an exciting interim lightweight championship tilt between two of the division’s hottest contenders in Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje in the UFC 324 main event.
Before that, however, previous bantamweight titleholder Sean O’Malley aims to get back into arms reach of the belt when he takes on Chinese phenom Song Yadong in the UFC 324 co-main event.
UFC 324 Main Event
In a thrilling culmination of a seven-fight winning streak in the organization, Pimblett has emerged as a must-see-television fighter in the lightweight category. Undefeated since 2018, “The Baddy” has laid waste to a bevy of stark opposition such as Tony Ferguson, King Green and Michael Chandler en route to his first crack at UFC gold at UFC 324.
Since the time of his first bout with the promotion, Gaethje has always delivered a fan-pleasing experience whenever he steps into the cage, backed by his astounding nine Fight of the Night bonuses. Having once claimed the interim strap back in 2020, “The Highlight” is no stranger to high-stakes championship contests, as the American has also vied for the undisputed crown on two occasions as well.
UFC 324 Co-Main Event
In the not-so-distant past, O’Malley stood as one of the company’s top pound-for-pound athletes. Taking the belt from Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, the Tim Welsh protégé enjoyed one successful title defense before being pushed off his throne in dominant fashion by Merab Dvalishvili. With his divisional rival no longer at the helm of the weight class, O’Malley is seeking to begin a new championship dynasty in UFC 324’s co-main event that will propel the Suga Show to new heights.
A staple of the world-renowned Team Alpha Male gym, Yadong has consistently remained a fixture near the top of the pecking order at bantamweight for well over half a decade. Recently picking up the biggest win of his career over Henry Cejudo, “The Kung Fu Kid” can inch himself even closer toward a potential shot at the summit in UFC 324 should he manage to topple the former 135-lb king.
Here’s How to Watch UFC 324
Online Streaming: You can catch the entire card on Paramount+, but you will need to subscribe in order to do so. Right now, the company is offering a monthly subscription of $8.99 with ads and $13.99 without. They are also offering a yearly subscription of $89.99 with ads and $139.99 without.
Start Time and Date: The early preliminaries will begin at 5pm ET, followed by the preliminaries at 7pm ET and then the main card at 9pm ET on January 24th.
Bout Order for UFC 324
Main Card:
(Lightweight) Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett
(Bantamweight) Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
(Heavyweight) Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis
(Women’s Flyweight) Natália Silva vs. Rose Namajunas
(Featherweight) Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva
Preliminaries:
(Bantamweight) Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
(Middleweight) Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev
(Light Heavyweight) Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas
Early Preliminaries:
(Flyweight) Alex Perez vs. Charles Johnson
(Lightweight) Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez
(Heavyweight) Josh Hokit vs. Denzel Freeman
(Bantamweight) Ricky Turcios vs. Cameron Smotherman
(Welterweight) Adam Fugitt vs. Ty Miller
