"Make no mistake, UFC 324 is a very good card. It should have been a great card, however, and might have been were it not for the loss of its co-main event. Under normal circumstances, a co-main event falling through wouldn't matter all that much. When your co-main event is what amounts to a super-fight between women's MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes, returning from retirement, and current UFC women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, well that's a different story."
"Nunes vs. Harrison has been years in the making and included all the big plot points, if you will, to make the fight massive. Former teammates, until Nunes left American Top Team. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in Harrison. The women's fighting GOAT in Nunes. The absolute best fighting the absolute best, with that statement for once not being hyperbole bandied about by the UFC's marketing machine."
"And so fight fans are left with Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for the UFC interim lightweight championship. It was always the UFC 324 main event, and it's a very good fight. A last chance for Gaethje, a first title opportunity for Pimblett. No doubt it will be a very good fight (ever see a boring Justin Gaethje fight? You'd have a better chance of spotting Bigfoot),"
UFC launches a seven-year, $7.7 billion U.S. broadcast deal with Paramount+ as UFC 324 marks the streaming debut. The scheduled card remains strong but lost its co-main event when Amanda Nunes withdrew, canceling the planned super-fight with Kayla Harrison. Nunes's return from retirement and Harrison's two Olympic gold medals framed the matchup as a GOAT-versus-elite narrative and added storyline weight including a former-teammates subplot. The remaining marquee bout is Justin Gaethje versus Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title, offering Gaethje a last chance and Pimblett his first title opportunity. A pre-fight press conference is set for January 22, 2026.
Read at Cageside Press
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