{"id":410589,"date":"2026-01-13T18:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/410589\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T18:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:53:08","slug":"ufc-324-preview-paddy-pimblett-faces-test-wth-justin-gaethje","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/410589\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 324 Preview Paddy Pimblett Faces Test Wth Justin Gaethje"},"content":{"rendered":"

UFC 324 Preview<\/p>\n

Paddy Pimblett<\/a> will face his toughest test to date in the UFC when he goes head-to-head with Justin Gaethje<\/a> in Las Vegas on January 24.<\/p>\n

Pimblett is the bookmakers\u2019 favourite to win the interim lightweight title, but he would be well advised not to underestimate his opponent.<\/p>\n

For fans who engage in sports betting in Florida<\/a> and across other regions, odds of 15\/8 for Gaethje to emerge victorious are a tempting proposition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gaethje scored a convincing decision victory over Rafael Fiziev in his most recent outing, while Pimblett claimed a knockout victory over Michael Chandler in April.<\/p>\n

Whoever triumphs at UFC 324 will earn a crack at Ilia Topuria for undisputed title. Topuria is currently taking a break from the sport due to personal issues.<\/p>\n

While Gaethje is renowned as a knockout specialist, his Liverpool-born opponent is confident that he will justify his status as the favourite to win the fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I finish him wherever the fight goes to be honest,\u201d Pimblett said<\/a>. \u201cObviously, I know he can bang, but every fight we get a breakdown of our opponent and it actually shocks me how much he gets hit and I know he takes one to give one, but you cannot really do that at this level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why he has lost to people like Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira because he can\u2019t just take one to give one, and I am not just going to stand there and let him hit me back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be using my range, keeping him on the outside, and I have got a feeling I am going to knock him out to be honest. I do not know what it is, I have just got a sneaky suspicion I am going to knock him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Pimblett is bullish about his chances of recording another victory, Gaethje is undoubtedly a dangerous opponent given what he has at stake in the fight.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old will reportedly hang up his gloves if he loses, which places a greater degree of jeopardy on the upcoming contest in Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Highlight\u2019 is currently the number four ranked UFC lightweight, but a defeat against Pimblett would scupper his hopes of earning a title shot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Head coach Trevor Wittman has confirmed that Gaethje will retire from fighting if he comes up short to ensure he protects his legacy in mixed martial arts (MMA).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have these conversations, I\u2019m not afraid to speak it out loud,\u201d Wittman told ESPN MMA<\/a>. \u201cThis is our last run \u2013 if we don\u2019t win this fight, we\u2019re not going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to go out there and be a gatekeeper and look at money fights. He\u2019s a goal setter, and his mentality \u2013 that\u2019s the key to Justin, he\u2019s very unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would fight over and over and over, but he knows he\u2019s got to be there for his family. He\u2019s got to be smart and take care of his health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main card<\/p>\n

Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett \u2013 Lightweight
\nKayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes \u2013 Women\u2019s Bantamweight
\nSean O\u2019Malley vs Song Yadong \u2013 Bantamweight
\nWaldo Cortes-Acosta vs Derrick Lewis \u2013 Heavyweight
\nArnold Allen vs Jean Silva \u2013 Featherweight<\/p>\n

Preliminary card<\/p>\n

Natalia Silva vs Rose Namajunas \u2013 Women\u2019s Flyweight
\nUmar Nurmagomedov vs Deiveson Figueiredo \u2013 Bantamweight
\nAteba Gautier vs Andrey Pulyaev \u2013 Middleweight
\nNikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas \u2013 Light Heavyweight<\/p>\n

Early preliminary card<\/p>\n

Alex Perez vs Charles Johnson \u2013 Flyweight
\nMichael Johnson vs Alexander Hernandez- Lightweight
\nJosh Hokit vs Denzel Freeman \u2013 Heavyweight
\nRicky Turcios vs Cameron Smotherman \u2013 Bantamweight
\nAdam Fugitt vs Ty Miller \u2013 Welterweight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UFC 324 Preview Paddy Pimblett will face his toughest test to date in the UFC when he goes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-410589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}