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Andreas Hale
The UFC’s 2026 campaign began with an interim lightweight title fight headliner. The first fight card of the year was also supposed to feature a highly anticipated women’s bantamweight title fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, but Harrison was forced to withdraw because of a neck injury.
Was UFC 324 able to overcome the loss of such a big matchup? Kind of.
A card that started with four consecutive knockouts dragged itself through four straight decisions and a mediocre main card that was salvaged by a tactical contest between Jean Silva and Arnold Allen and a slugfest that saw Justin Gaethje turn back Paddy Pimblett to claim the interim championship.
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake.
Interim lightweight championship: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett
Result: Gaethje defeats Pimblett by unanimous decision
Grade: A-
Gaethje and Pimblett dueled for five rounds in a thrilling battle that was easily the best fight of the night. That’s not shocking considering the two combatants. However, Pimblett’s durability was surprising. He survived several knockdowns while eating a steady diet of Gaethje punches. Pimblett refused to go away and had his moments in a loss that could raise his profile, despite the outcome. As for Gaethje, he proved that he still has something left in the gas tank and showcased his fight-altering power. As always, go out of your way to watch a Justin Gaethje fight.
Welterweight: Adam Fugitt vs. Ty Miller
Result: Miller defeats Fugitt by first-round TKO
Grade: B+
Miller kicked off the slate of 2026 fights with a bang, knocking out Fugitt at the buzzer in the first round. Miller was brilliant with his striking, picking apart Fugitt with precision punching. The fight nearly turned on a dime when Fugitt landed a spinning elbow that caught Miller clean. It wasn’t enough, however, as Miller dropped Fugitt with a straight right hand and stepped on the gas to prevent his badly hurt opponent from escaping the round.
Men’s flyweight: Alex Perez vs. Charles Johnson
Result: Perez defeats Johnson by first-round TKO
Grade: B+
Perez became the first fighter to finish Johnson in an impressive outing. The victory got the former flyweight contender back to his winning ways after going 1-5 over his past six fights. His striking was excellent as he blasted Johnson with a body kick and followed with a combination ending with a left hook that wrecked his opponent. Perez refused to take his foot off the gas as Johnson tried his best to regain his senses. But it was too late as a right hand faceplanted Johnson, and the fight was stopped. This was an excellent return to form for Perez despite missing weight.
Featherweight: Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva
Result: Silva defeats Allen by unanimous decision
Grade: B
This was a fun back-and-forth battle that took place almost entirely standing up. Allen patiently picked his spots in the opening round, but Silva roared back, attacking with reckless abandon to take control of the fight. Allen was tough as nails, absorbing some powerful strikes from Silva and never succumbing. This won’t be on anyone’s short list for fight of the year, but it was definitely worth watching. Also, Silva earned style points for springboarding off Allen’s back during a scramble in the closing seconds of the fight.
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis
Result: Cortes-Acosta defeats Lewis by second-round TKO
Grade: C+
This wasn’t the slugfest people wanted as Cortes-Acosta was patient, staying out of Lewis’ range. He waited for the UFC’s knockout king to exhaust himself by swinging at air. For Cortes-Acosta, this was a brilliant strategy that paid off, vaulting him into title contention. However, the fight itself wasn’t terribly exciting, and the finish came after Cortes-Acosta appeared to drop Lewis with a light jab. Cortes-Acosta sprang to action and finished the job, but this wasn’t a must-see fight.
Men’s bantamweight: Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
Result: O’Malley defeats Song by unanimous decision
Grade: C
This was a serviceable performance that got O’Malley back into the win column, but it took a late surge in Round 3 to pull it off. Song spent much of the fight on his front foot, forcing O’Malley to circle away to try to create distance to use his reach. It was a tactical outing from O’Malley. He picked his spots, and when he sensed the fight was hanging in the balance, he cranked up the activity to squeeze out the win. This won’t be a fight that anyone talks about by the end of the year, but it was important for O’Malley to end his two-fight skid by any means necessary.
Heavyweight: Josh Hokit vs. Denzel Freeman
Result: Hokit defeats Freeman by first-round TKO
Grade: C
Hokit earned the first-round stoppage with a middle finger to a completely spent Freeman, a statement that shows just how odd this fight was. Hokit deserves all the credit for dominating Freeman throughout the fight with his wrestling and striking, but Freeman appeared completely outmatched in terms of conditioning, defense and striking. It was a sad scene with Hokit doing what he had to do to get the finish.
Light heavyweight: Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas
Result: Krylov defeats Bukauskas by third-round TKO
Grade: C
For 14 minutes and 57 seconds, this was a fight that sucked the energy out of the arena after fans were treated to a trio of first-round finishes. It was a sluggish affair with a little too much wrestling for the Las Vegas crowd’s liking, as the fight was trending toward being the first true stinker of the night. But with 10 seconds left in the third round, Krylov stood in the pocket and connected with a right hand on the chin of Bukauskas that sank him to the canvas and ended the fight with three seconds left. It was an explosive finish for a fight that was a chore to get through.
Men’s bantamweight: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Result: Nurmagomedov defeats Figueiredo by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Nurmagomedov cruised to a one-sided decision win in a fight that won’t be remembered outside of the result. Figueiredo couldn’t do much of anything with Nurmagomedov in any aspect of the fight. The win was Nurmagomedov’s second consecutive victory since losing to Merab Dvalishvili. It will look better on paper than it was to witness.
Women’s flyweight: Natalia Silva vs. Rose Namajunas
Result: Silva defeats Namajunas by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
This was an extremely tentative affair with Silva squeezing out a controversial decision. The fight boiled down to an opening round that featured little action. A lot of respect was given on both sides, but for what appeared to be a title eliminator, neither Silva nor Namajunas put a stamp on being the top contender for Valentina Shevchenko’s championship. Long stretches of clinches and inactivity drew jeers, and the result was booed by a restless crowd.
Middleweight: Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev
Result: Gautier defeats Pulyaev by unanimous decision
Grade: D
The fight that everyone thought would end in a knockout was the first to go the distance as Gautier chased Pulyaev around for 15 minutes and had to settle for a decision win. Pulyaev was sent to the canvas by the first punch landed and spent the rest of the fight steering clear of Gautier’s devastating power and flicking out strikes to keep Gautier from overwhelming him. Gautier does deserve some blame for the grade, however, as his entries became far too predictable and avoidable. He’ll have to switch things up with his striking if he hopes to crash the rankings and become a title contender.
UFC 324 fight card grade: B-
Anchored by a main event that exceeded expectations and the first four fights of the card ending by knockout, UFC 324 was rock solid. There weren’t any completely unwatchable fights, but a few underdelivered, dragging the final grade down a notch.
