The first numbered UFC event of 2026 saw the T-Mobile Arena play host to a packed fight card, including a battle for the interim lightweight title that had the crowd on the edge of their seats.<\/p>\n
UFC 323 Power Rankings<\/p>\n
RDX Sports<\/a>\u2018 Editor-in-Chief and veteran MMA writer\u00a0Simon Head<\/a>\u00a0casts his eye over the main card winners, and presents his Power Rankings for UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Justin Gaethje<\/p>\n Put simply, at UFC 324, Justin Gaethje<\/a> did Justin Gaethje things. He went into the trenches, barely took a backward step and put a beating on a remarkably game and durable Paddy Pimblett<\/a> to capture the vacant interim lightweight title for the second time in his career.<\/p>\n Gaethje entered the bout as the betting underdog, with the prevailing wisdom suggesting that, with plenty of miles on the clock, and more than his fair share of wars battering his now-37-year-old body, he might not have quite enough for the surging Pimblett, who had looked so good against Michael Chandler<\/a> last time out.<\/p>\n But one fight night, Gaethje gave the MMA world a reminder that, despite saying he\u2019s entering the final stages of his career, he\u2019s far from done as an elite-level fighter.<\/p>\n In short, it was exactly the sort of performance we\u2019ve come to expect from \u201cThe Highlight\u201d over the years, and it puts him in line for a huge fight next. Whether it\u2019s a shot at undisputed champion Ilia Topuria \u2013 who is currently on a self-imposed hiatus to deal with personal matters away from the sport \u2013 or even a BMF title rematch with Max Holloway, who so dramatically starched him in the last second of their thriller at UFC 300<\/a>, there\u2019s at least one more massive bout in Gaethje\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/p>\n And whoever he ends up fighting, you know you\u2019re going to want to watch it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sean O\u2019Malley<\/p>\n Heading into his fight with Chinese contender Song Yadong, it felt like there were big question marks hanging over Sean O\u2019Malley as a title contender at 135 pounds.<\/p>\n Sure, he\u2019d reached the bantamweight summit and looked pretty good doing so. But the manner of his defeat to Merab Dvalishvili, then his subsequent loss to \u201cThe Machine\u201d in their title rematch, left some wondering whether O\u2019Malley could make that leap to the very top again.<\/p>\n Against Song, it felt like a genuine test of his credentials, and he passed that test with flying colors.<\/p>\n Song gave him all the pressure he could handle, but O\u2019Malley coped with it superbly. And while he did drop the second round to his opponent, the way he turned up the output and pressure in the crucial final round showed his championship class was still very much intact.<\/p>\n A little bit older, a little bit wiser, and with some crucial experience of life as both champion and challenger, O\u2019Malley is still fine-tuning his game, and if a rematch with the current champion \u2013 and former O\u2019Malley victim \u2013 Petr Yan<\/a> becomes a serious possibility, a second title reign might not be out of the question for \u201cThe Suga Show.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Natalia Silva<\/p>\n Natalia Silva wasn\u2019t scheduled to compete at UFC 324, so when she agreed to sign on the dotted line to take on the exceptionally well-rounded, and championship-tested Rose Namajunas on just three weeks\u2019 notice, more than a few eyebrows were raised. After all, this was a fight she didn\u2019t need to take.<\/p>\n But despite putting her ranking \u2013 and a possible title fight with Valentina Shevchenko<\/a> \u2013 at risk, Silva used the fight to further enhance her championship credentials as she edged a unanimous decision verdict over \u201cThug Rose\u201d and added another former champion\u2019s name to her resum\u00e9 in the process.<\/p>\n Silva was pushed all the way by Namajunas, but that only gave her the opportunity to show her ability to turn up the pressure when she needed to. And, in a final round that ultimately decided the fight, Silva found the extra gear she needed to secure the victory.<\/p>\n Now sitting tied for the No. 1 ranking spot at 125 pounds, sharing the spot with former title challenger Manon Fiorot, Silva looks ideally placed to challenge Shevchenko for the belt later this year. A matchup with \u201cBullet\u201d during UFC International Fight Week would make a ton of sense, and would offer a fresh new challenge for the all-conquering Shevchenko in the summer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jean Silva<\/p>\n Jean Silva could have been fighting for the featherweight title this coming weekend, but one spinning back elbow from Diego Lopes changed everything, and \u201cLord\u201d found himself just missing out on the biggest fight of his career.<\/p>\n Instead, he was given the challenge of defeating England\u2019s teak-tough contender Arnold Allen, whose only prior UFC defeats had come against Max Holloway and, in a contested call, Movsar Evloev.<\/p>\n It meant that Silva faced a tricky test to keep his name in at the forefront of the featherweight title picture, but at UFC 324 he fought superbly to outwork Allen over the three-round duration to earn a deserved unanimous decision victory.<\/p>\n In a closely-contested fight, Silva picked up the pace in Rounds 2 and 3 to claim the victory in a fight that looked to be going against him for much of the opening round. But a big finish to the round put him on the up heading into the second stanza, and a confident Silva fought with the aggression and skill we\u2019ve come to expect from him as he earned a crucial victory.<\/p>\n With the likes of Evloev and Lerone Murphy also highly-deserving contenders at the sharp end of the division, It remains to be seen if he\u2019ll get the call to challenge for the featherweight title next. It also wouldn\u2019t be surprising if he got matched with either man. I mean, who wouldn\u2019t want to see Silva take on Murphy over five rounds at The O2 Arena in March?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Waldo Cortes-Acosta<\/p>\n In terms of sheer spectacle and fight excitement, Waldo Cortes-Acosta\u2019s victory over Derrick Lewis didn\u2019t deliver the fireworks or the action of the four wins listed above, but his success was no less important in the context of the victor\u2019s career.<\/p>\n Cortes-Acosta fought five times last year, winning four of them, to see him surge into the heavyweight top five. And while his punch power in MMA gloves<\/a> has been evident, it was his fighting smarts that stood out most against knockout artist Lewis on Saturday night.<\/p>\n Cortes-Acosta stayed out of trouble on the outside and forced Lewis to overreach with his shots. It meant \u201cThe Black Beast\u201d spent much of his offensive time swinging and missing. And, after Costes-Acosta caught an off-balance Lewis with a short jab that sent him to the canvas, he closed in and unloaded the heavy artillery to force the stoppage via ground strikes.<\/p>\n His ranking may not have been boosted by the victory, but with five wins from his last six, including a win over a former title challenger in his last fight, expect to see \u201cSalsa Boy\u201d in there with a top-tier dance partner next time out.<\/p>\n