Sean O\u2019Malley was as confused as many fans when UFC 324\u2019s title fights were announced.<\/p>\n
At halftime of the Thanksgiving NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Mavericks, UFC CEO Dana White announced the promotion\u2019s 2026 kickoff plans, with Justin Gaethje fighting Paddy Pimblett for an interim lightweight title in the UFC 324 main event on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas, with women\u2019s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison defending her title against the returning Amanda Nunes in the co-main event.<\/p>\n
White\u2019s halftime segment was brief and he went on to hype up several other newly official bouts on Instagram Live, but overall the reception to the news didn\u2019t exactly shake up the MMA community. On his YouTube<\/a> channel, O\u2019Malley criticized the quality of the announcement and theorized it was because the matchmakers actually wanted to pair Pimblett with lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so disappointed in the announcement. \u2026 The No. 1 fight promoter in the world absolutely brings the energy when he goes on live on Insta or YouTube, he brings the energy,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cThis one felt weird. My theory is it was supposed to be Paddy vs. Ilia, that\u2019s what was supposed to happen and they were really trying to get that fight to happen and they couldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was supposed to be Paddy vs. Ilia and that didn\u2019t go through and Dana was not happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Topuria is unavailable for the foreseeable future as he recently announced he is taking time off to deal with personal matters<\/a> and doesn\u2019t expect to return until April at the earliest.<\/p>\n O\u2019Malley also addressed the controversy concerning Harrison vs. Nunes playing second fiddle to an interim title fight. Nunes is widely regarded as one of the greatest female fighters of all time and she returns to competition for the first time since 2023, and Harrison is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo who has compiled a 19-1 record in MMA.<\/p>\n Despite those accolades, O\u2019Malley thinks the current lineup is what\u2019s best for the fans.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a g*ddamn business,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cThey are not going to put Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison\u2014it\u2019s a big fight, women\u2019s history, yes, I get it\u2014we want to fight Paddy vs. Gaethje at the end of the card. \u2026 [Harrison and Nunes] are co-main, I like that. I should be opening up the pay-per-view. I should be ending the prelims, but I think the card is where it is and I think that\u2019s OK. Justin vs. Paddy, that\u2019s an interesting fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPaddy vs. Gaethje is a bigger fight than Arman vs. either of those two,\u201d O\u2019Malley added.<\/p>\n As for his own fight against Song Yadong, O\u2019Malley is currently expected to have a place on the UFC 324 main card, though he understands his bout might have less priority given his back-to-back losses to men\u2019s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not even the co-main, I am falling off hard,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cWhat\u2019s next? Prelims? Early prelims? G*ddamn it, it\u2019s not going good for the Suga Show. I\u2019m about to be fighting at ICF [Intense Championship Fighting] in Great Falls, the stock of the Suga Show is down bad right now. It\u2019s not good. It\u2019s not looking good, but you\u2019re only as good as your last fight, so I go out there, win, we\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n Smart. Tom Aspinall fires back at Dana White and the critics<\/a>.<\/p>\n WHAT? Ronda Rousey is reportedly in talks to fight<\/a> Katie Taylor in some shape or form.<\/p>\n Math. Khamzat Chimaev thinks Alex Pereira should give him a chance to become two-division champion<\/a> before chasing a third belt.<\/p>\n Up? Merab Dvalishvili is the clear-cut king of 135, so is it time for a featherweight move?<\/a><\/p>\n BMF. Charles Oliveira sets the gears in motion for a \u201cBMF\u201d title fight<\/a> with Max Holloway.<\/p>\n Anik and Florian look ahead to Saturday\u2019s show.<\/p>\n Say what you want, but Tim Welch knows Merab Dvalishvili pretty well by now.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n The best knockouts of the week.<\/p>\n Think this guy is feeling good ahead of his fourth title defense of the year?<\/p>\n Where all the Armaniacs at?<\/p>\n Yay! Now, no more fighting, please.<\/p>\n Ronda Rousey can\u2019t actually be coming back to box another human being, much less Katie Taylor, right?<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n