Fight fans breathed a collective sigh of relief on Saturday night as the UFC finally kicked back into gear following its longest sabbatical in years. The added bells and whistles of the organization’s new broadcast deal with Paramount+ brought plenty of intrigue to the opening card of 2026, but beyond the aesthetics, the overwhelming sense of relief across the fanbase was palpable once the action began inside the Octagon.
With more than half of the evening’s participants beginning 2026 ranked inside the top ten of their respective divisions, there was plenty at stake under the Las Vegas lights at T-Mobile Arena.
Let’s sift through the rubble of UFC 324 and project what might be next for the evening’s biggest winners.
Justin Gaethje
By becoming the first fighter in promotional history to win a UFC interim title twice, Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) gave the world a stark reminder that there is still plenty of life left in the old dog.
Having publicly contemplated retirement on several occasions in recent months, the 37-year-old likely contributed to his perception as an underdog heading into Saturday’s main event against Paddy Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC). Once the fight began, however, “The Highlight” did what he has always done, dragging his opponent into the most intense firefight of his career to date.
Pimblett was initially rumored to face undisputed lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main event, only for the Georgian-Spaniard’s personal issues to remove him from the equation for the time being, resulting in Gaethje being drafted in as a replacement.
With the interim belt now draped over his shoulder, the veteran has not only taken Pimblett’s unbeaten UFC record but has also leapfrogged him in the title race and will likely face “El Matador” at the White House this summer.
Sean O’Malley
After a turbulent couple of years, the Sugar Show finally got back on track in Saturday’s co-main event. Sean O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) had to dig deep to overcome Song Yadong (22-8-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC). With the momentum of the fight seemingly slipping away, the former bantamweight champion found an extra gear, allowing him to get over the line and secure a unanimous decision victory.
As O’Malley noted during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Merab Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) is likely next in line to challenge reigning 135-pound champion Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC), and O’Malley’s next move will largely depend on the outcome of that matchup.
Should Yan successfully defend the belt against Dvalishvili, it would set up a rematch of O’Malley’s 2022 split-decision win over the current titleholder. On the other hand, if “The Machine” dethrones Yan to reclaim the belt, O’Malley’s path back to a title shot becomes more complicated, and he could find himself matched up with Cory Sandhagen (18–6 MMA, 11–5 UFC) next.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta
A frankly astonishing body of work over the past ten months has seen Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) crash the top five of the UFC heavyweight rankings, and his win over former title challenger Derrick Lewis (29-13 MMA, 20-11 UFC) on Saturday’s main card only served to further cement his status as one of the division’s most dangerous fighters.
With the heavyweight title seemingly on ice as Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) recovers from the eye injury he sustained against Ciryl Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 321 in October, “Salsa Boy” is forced to look laterally within the rankings when considering his next opponent. His callout of Curtis Blaydes (19-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) was an astute one, although there remains an outside chance that Cortes-Acosta could find himself matched up with Gane in an interim title bout should Aspinall’s injury keep him sidelined for an extended period.
Natalia Silva
Speaking at Saturday’s post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White looked like a man regretting his pre-fight promise that the winner of the bout between Natalia Silva (20-5-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Rose Namajunas (14-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC) would be next in line to face women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (26-4-1 MMA, 15-3-1 UFC).
White confirmed to reporters that Silva will indeed receive the next title shot, and as dull and uninspiring as Saturday’s fight proved to be, it is important not to overlook the fact that Silva has now outpointed three former UFC champions in her past three outings.
Jean Silva
Jean Silva (17-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Arnold Allen (20-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) delivered an exceptional battle to open Saturday’s main card, with both men reaffirming their status as two of the very best fighters at 145 pounds. Silva looked uncharacteristically measured and composed in the opening round before returning to his typically chaotic best over the second half of the bout.
It remains difficult to know whether a decision win over the featherweight division’s most underappreciated and overlooked fighter will be enough to propel the Brazilian into title contention, but a matchup between “Lord” and the No. 3–ranked Yair Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) feels like the logical next step.
