The first UFC event of 2026 brought the action we’ve missed during the six-week break. The interim lightweight matchup between two of the toughest fighters in MMA somehow went the distance after five bloody rounds. Justin Gaethje earned every bit of his unanimous decision victory over Paddy Pimblett and took home a second career interim belt for his effort. The win likely set up a unification bout with champion Ilia Topuria in the spring.
Sean O’Malley got back to his winning ways against Song Yadong after nearly two years without an Octagon victory. The relief on O’Malley’s face after his arm was raised was clear, and with a familiar O’Malley foe back in control of the men’s bantamweight division, maybe a path back to the title picture is in view for «Suga.»
Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale and Jeff Wagenheim give their takeaways on those bouts and the performances of Natalia Silva and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who may also have championship opportunities in their futures.
Gaethje ain’t finished yet
Rumors of Gaethje’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Although Gaethje has openly discussed closing in on the final chapter of his excellent fighting career, «The Highlight» showed against Pimblett that he has gas left in the tank. After Gaethje lost by brutal knockout to Max Holloway, the expectation was that his violent fighting style had finally caught up with him and taken too many years off his career.
While that may be true to a degree, it’s not quite over for Gaethje, who is now in line for a unification fight with Topuria, who is on a self-imposed hiatus from MMA.
What we saw from Gaethje was a violent, offensive outing that nearly proved wrong Pimblett’s proclamation that «scousers don’t get knocked out.» Gaethje nearly finished Pimblett in the first and second rounds then endured a surge from the fighter from Liverpool, England, in the third round before Gaethje closed the show and left his opponent’s face a swollen, bloody mess. That’s what MMA fans have always loved about Gaethje. He never, ever has a bad fight, and he will backflip off the top of the cage into the Hall of Fame after he decides to hang up the gloves. Against Pimblett, he routinely tested his opponent’s chin with overhand rights. Pimblett deserves a ton of credit for maintaining his consciousness throughout the fight, but this was Gaethje’s night.
He’ll likely be a significant underdog against Topuria, but that doesn’t take away from Gaethje’s exhilarating performance on a night that once again ended with gold wrapped around his waist. — Hale
The win over Yadong is O’Malley’s second victory in a month
Those who have been keeping up will remember that O’Malley came into his unanimous decision win over Yadong at UFC 324 having lost two fights in a row, including his only appearance of 2025. But the previous «Suga Sean» victory I’m referring to is a December fight he watched from home — Merab Dvalishvili‘s men’s bantamweight championship loss to Petr Yan at UFC 323. Dvalishvili was the one who had handed O’Malley his two straight losses, and getting a third shot at him and the belt would have been difficult. Now, with Yan as champion, O’Malley is back in title contention, especially considering that he owns a win over Yan.
O’Malley didn’t make the most emphatic championship statement, though. Neither did fellow contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who dominated former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo earlier in the card. Considering that Dvalishvili’s loss broke a 14-fight winning streak and was his fourth fight of 2025, the UFC would be wise to let him run it back with Yan while O’Malley and Nurmagomedov continue to marinate their candidacy. — Wagenheim
Cortes-Acosta should have our attention, but not yet our confidence
The headline for this section probably sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not meant to be. Cortes-Acosta has now won eight of his last nine, which is wildly impressive in the UFC. He also has knockouts in his last three bouts against legit competition, including Saturday, when he stepped just out of range of Derrick Lewis and dropped him with a shot that looked to be thrown with about 5% effort.
He deserves a ton of credit for this massive hot streak, and there are little nuances to his game that make him as dangerous as just about any other heavyweight. But the way in which he defeated Ante Delija in November was strange and controversial, following an eye-poke that initially looked like it was going to be a loss for Cortes-Acosta. And he is less than six months away from the loss to Serghei Pavlovich.
Cortes-Acosta has a lot going for him. He’s one of few legitimate heavyweight title contenders and is building momentum with his willingness to fight so frequently. But against the likes of Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane and other contenders in his sights, such as Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov, he’ll be considered an underdog until he proves he can win at the top level. — Okamoto
Silva should leapfrog Fiorot to get to Shevchenko
Natalia Silva was not pleased with her UFC 324 performance, and the crowd at T-Mobile Arena booed the judges’ decision, but beating Rose Namajunas is a significant step forward for the 28-year-old.
For one thing, it ran Silva’s winning streak to 14 fights and made her 8-0 in the UFC. Adding significance, Namajunas was the third consecutive former UFC champion Silva has defeated, after Jessica Andrade in 2024 and Alexa Grasso last year. That golden run could earn Silva a shot at the current women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko.
Timing is everything, and considering that the one flyweight ranked ahead of Silva, Manon Fiorot, lost to Shevchenko in May, it appears Silva has a clear path. If she does get to challenge the champion, Silva’s hit-and-move style could make the fight look much like Shevchenko’s dominant win over Fiorot. But if Silva has earned it, she should get the opportunity. — Wagenheim
