On Thursday, Dana White gave the MMA community an exciting wait for the New Year as multiple fight announcements were made for the first two numbered events of 2026.
This comes in the new era for the UFC as they will be broadcasted by Paramount, leaving ESPN after seven years.
Seven bouts were announced for UFC 324, although one more was confirmed which the UFC President didn’t mention live on social media.
Only the main event was confirmed for UFC 325 which brought some anticipation and backlash from fans and fighters.
UFC 324
In the headliner, Justin Gaethje takes on Paddy Pimblett in a scheduled five-round war for the Interim Lightweight belt.
It was presumed that either fighter would face the undisputed champion Ilia Topuria but the Georgian has had to delay his return due to personal reasons.
Kayla Harrison makes her first title defence in the bantamweight division as she faces the acclaimed G.O.A.T of Women’s MMA, Amanda Nunes.
‘The Lioness’ retired at UFC 289, following her dominant decision victory against Irene Aldana as she tries to contest with an unstoppable force at 135lbs.
Sean O’Malley faces Song Yadong in a bantamweight bout as the American seeks redemption.
A win for the Chinese mixed martial artist would put him in a strong position for title contention.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta fought five times in 2025, and he starts off early in 2026 when he faced knockout record holder, Derrick Lewis.
Arnold Allen makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon since his last fight at UFC 304 as he goes up against Jean Silva who hopes to return to the win column.
In what may be a bantamweight title eliminator, Umar Nurmagomedov defends his #1 contender’s spot against former two-time flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo.
Alexa Grasso is still in search for a redeeming victory as she faces the former two-time strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas.
The matchup which wasn’t announced but later confirmed was a middleweight bout between promising prospect Ateba Gautier and Russian newcomer Andrey Pulyaev.
UFC 325’s Main Event
The headliner for Australia’s annual numbered event sparked a bit of controversy as the MMA community didn’t expect who would challenge Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title.
It was announced that Diego Lopes was the championship challenger at UFC 325, giving fans a rematch from their first bout at UFC 314 where the Australian won the vacant title.
The UFC must’ve believed that Lopes earned this position after stopping Silva by second-round TKO at Noche UFC, while constantly providing exciting battles in the Octagon in previous bouts.
Some predicted that Movsar Evloev would be the challenger for the 145lbs throne due to his undefeated record, despite not competing once this year.
Another highly possible name that was expected to be confirmed was Lerone Murphy who is unbeaten as well.
The Englishman fought twice in 2025, securing a decision victory over Josh Emmett, and a blazing knockout win over Aaron Pico which caught Volkanovski’s attention.
Perhaps, Evloev will take on Murphy at some stage next year to decide who is the rightful #1 contender for the title.
The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈 
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