Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje traded titanic blows over UFC 324’s interim lightweight title fight. Hosted at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Gaethje decisively beat Pimblett by unanimous decision on Jan. 24 and secured Gaethje’s second UFC interim lightweight belt. Pimblett represented “Scousers” from Liverpool and faced off against the more seasoned veteran, Gaethje. Gaethje is known for his tectonically powerful knockout, bellowing endurance and a chin tempered in hellfire.

Pimblett is a younger, less experienced fighter who is still discovering his technique. His approach to fighting is fearless, reactive improvisation of opportunistic striking coupled with overwhelming grappling. 

In combat sports, a decision is when the judges decide the outcome of the fight after 3-5 rounds, each round lasting 5 minutes. Decisions are guided by points earned by the fighters throughout the rounds. Strikes landed, successful grapples, aggression are all categories factored into the point system.

UFC announced a White House title fight and many fans speculated who would headline the event. This added another layer of tension to the mixed reception of UFC 324’s conclusion. Sophomore in construction management Axel Edmunds said he felt that although the fight was excellent and Pimblett’s resilience deserved praise, Gaethje was clearly the more technical, seasoned fighter in an unfair matchup.

 “I thought the main event was lazy. Gaethje dominated Paddy Pimblett. Pimblett was too cocky in the pre-fight interviews. He came in there all cocky and Gaethje told him: ‘Don’t get too cocky.’ and look what happened,” Edmunds said.

Pimblett boasts a ravenous social media following. His fans took a quick shine to his quirky accent, charming “normal guy” persona and his humorous, offbeat post-fight banter. 

Pimblett was criticized for being underprepared and brought into question whether Pimblett’s influencer status garnered him unearned advancement in his UFC career. Gaethje and Pimblett traded aggressive strikes over five rounds. After the 25 minute brawl ended, Gaethje was noticeably less weathered than Pimblett.

The co-main fight of UFC 324 featured two bantamweight fighters, Sean O’Malley and Song Yadong. O’Malley won the fight in the third round by unanimous decision.

“The fight between Sean O’Malley and Song Yadong was great, though. O’Malley needs to fight Merab Dvalishvili one more time to really come back,” Edmunds said.

Edmunds also mentioned O’Malley’s previous two losses against Dvalishvili saying “I’m excited to see the White House title card. I would love to see Dvalishvili and O’Malley go at it again [at that event,]”

Junior business major Zane Aplanalp had this to say about UFC 324:

“I thought it was a well-fought fight. It was crazy. I thought Gaethje broke his hand at one point from hitting Paddy so many times. I had money on that fight, too. I voted on Paddy, he’s at the top of his game for sure. I love his post-fight interviews. I think he’s funny when he wins. He’s a humble guy, too. He had people he was fighting for.”

Aplanalp is hopeful about Pimblett’s future.

“He might still be mostly an influencer at this stage, but he’s obviously a really humble guy,” Aplanalp said. “You heard it in his post-fight interview. He really cares about his fans and his family back home. He wants another shot at the belt, and I’m sure he’ll get it.”

The last time Gaethje held the interim lightweight belt, he was placed against Khabib Nurmagomedov – one of the sport’s greatest of all time fighters. Gaethje’s shot at the belt means he will eventually have to fight Ilia Topuria, UFC’s current lightweight champion. 

Topuria had this to say about Pimblett and UFC 324 on X: 

“Little sausage, [Pimblett] the only thing you had to do was beat a 38 year old guy. You just lost the biggest paycheck of your life. You were going to get rich if you won. Justin, all I can say is congratulations… and I’d like to tell you to get ready, but you’re screwed no matter what.”

UFC fans are left with the question: did Gaethje earn himself a coveted golden-ticket to Dana White’s UFC June 2026 White House title card? We’ll have to wait till June to see.