This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC 324, the interim lightweight title was on the line. Former interim champ Justin Gaethje (27-5) was looking to capture interim gold for a second time as he took on Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett (23-4).
Pimblett had never lost inside the octagon and despite not facing the best competition throughout his seven fights inside the octagon, he was better than a -200 favorite entering the fight. Justin Gaethje set out to prove that there were levels to the game on Saturday night.
From the opening bell, Gaethje was walking Pimblett down and he gave him no space or respect. Pimblett was game for a fire fight and he through massive shots back at Gaethje throughout the fight. However, the story of the fight was the power and pressure of Justin Gaethje.
It was evident from the jump as he dropped Pimblett in the first round at UFC 324. Outside of Pimblett having a good third round and the fifth round being close, this was a pretty clear win for “The Highlight” who handed Pimblett his first loss inside the octagon.
What’s next after UFC 324?
It’s pretty clear as to what is next for Gaethje and that’s a date with undisputed lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0). The promotion wanted Topuria to headline this first Paramount show against Pimblett for the title, but due to personal reasons, Topuria wasn’t ready to fight.
However, the champion has said that he would be ready to fight in April at the earliest but he was targeting anywhere from there to June. The UFC’s historic White House card goes down in June and with Saturday’s result, you might just have your headliner.
Topuria is one of the biggest stars in the sport and Gaethje is an American who is one of the most loved fighters in the sport. Seems perfect for what they are trying to do in June and I expect Topuria and Gaethje’s unification bout to take place on The White House lawn.
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