UFC ‘Insider’ Leaks Major Paddy Pimblett News Ahead of UFC 324

A UFC insider appears to have leaked a major change to Paddy Pimblett's upcoming championship bout with Justin Gaethje.

On January 24, Liverpool's Pimblett will return to the UFC octagon for a blockbuster bout with fan-favourite fighter Gaethje at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The pair will compete for the interim lightweight championship as current champion Ilia Topuria takes some time outside of the octagon to deal with an ongoing legal situation.

It is then expected that whoever wins the interim belt will then go on to fight Topuria and unify the belts when the Georgian and Spanish fighter returns to the UFC later this year.

However, it appears that these plans may have already undergone a major change as a UFC reporter appears to have leaked a new detail about the upcoming fight between Pimblett and Gaethje.

Since the announcement of the fight, some fans have questioned whether Pimblett in particular deserves to be fighting for an interim belt given the quality of his recent opponents.

Meanwhile others had previously called for the 30-year-old to be given an undisputed title shot against Topuria given their fierce rivalry and previous history.

But now, it appears that Pimblett will be getting the perfect chance to set up a future fight with Topuria as UFC reporter Nina Drama may have leaked that his fight with Gaethje could now be for the vacant undisputed lightweight title rather than the interim belt.

In an interview with Gaethje posted on social media, Nina Drama, real name Nina Daniele, promoted the upcoming fight with Pimblett, writing that the pair would compete for the vacant UFC lightweight title.

If true, the news would make sense after current champion Topuria released another statement on Monday confirming that he would be taking a step away from the sport, claiming he was being extorted and blackmailed.

And, should this be the case, it is entirely possible that Daniele would be in the know before it becoming as she works closely alongside the UFC and CEO Dana White.

However, it is worth nothing that Daniele has since changed the caption of the post to state that the fight is for the interim UFC lightweight title.

Whether or not this was an innocent mistake from Daniele, or an indication of a future announcement, remains to be seen.