Paddy Pimblett Handed Biggest Fight of His Career on Stacked UFC 324 Card
Paddy Pimblett is poised to get his first UFC main event and his biggest fight to date after Ilia Topuria confirmed a break from the Octagon.
Pimblett, who debuted in the promotion back in September 2021, was most recently in action in April when he produced an incredible performance to defeat Michael Chandler inside three rounds at UFC 314 in Miami.
'The Baddy' has been progressing nicely with an unbeaten run in the lightweight division and has been demanding a title shot against current champion Topuria, who he has a well-documented history with.
However, the Georgian has confirmed he will not be fighting in the first quarter of 2026 due to "difficult" issues in his personal life.
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Reported to have split with partner Giorgina Uzcategui Badell, 'El Matador' announced he plans to focus on his children and was conscious of not wanting to hold up the rest of the division as a result of his absence.
"I won’t be fighting in the first quarter of next year," the two-division champion wrote on X.
"I’m going through a difficult moment in my personal life. I want to focus on my children and resolve this situation as soon as possible.
"I don’t want to hold up the division. The UFC will make the matchups needed, and as soon as the matters are resolved I'll let the UFC know I'm ready to begin my return."
Pimblett and Justin Gaethje had both put forward their case for being next in line to take on Topuria, as did Arman Tsarukyan following victory against Dan Hooker last week.
However, UFC will now be forced to make alternative arrangements - with rumours circulating that Pimblett and Gaethje will square off in a huge UFC 324 main event for the interim lightweight title.
According to Alvaro Colmenero, "multiple sources" have told him that Pimblett vs Gaethje is happening - with the winner likely facing Topuria later for the real 115lbs strap in 2026.
UFC commentator and two-division champion Daniel Cormier has also claimed the UFC have been planning the huge headline match-up “I know for a fact that they wanted to do Paddy versus Justin,” Cormier said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“A win over Justin after what [Paddy’s] done already, now I would’ve bought Paddy fighting for the belt right now. Because I still believe that Paddy needs to continue to grow in the Octagon a little bit.”
“He’s fought so well that we go, ‘Man, the way he beat [Michael] Chandler, we’ve never seen that before.’ But Ilia’s a different beast, he’s a savage.”
UFC chief Dana White will make a number of fight announcements during halftime of the Kansas City Chiefs vs Dallas Cowboys game on CBS - with many expecting it to be related to UFC 324 - the promotion's first event as part of a $7.7 billion Paramount deal.
How is UFC 324 on Paramount shaping up?
As per reports, UFC Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes is poised to return to face Kayla Harrison for the chance to become women's bantamweight champion for the third time.
Arnold Allen vs Jean Silva and Nikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas have already been pencilled in for the Las Vegas event, with Sean O'Malley rumoured to be in action against Song Yadong on a mammoth card.
Gaethje, who has been interim lightweight champion before, previously claimed he would retire from the sport if he was denied a title shot in his next bout.
His two previous title opportunities saw him submitted against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.
Topics: UFC, Paddy Pimblett, Justin Gaethje, Dana White
Josh Lawless