LAS VEGAS: Dana White and the UFC begin a new era on Saturday night.
Rising star Paddy Pimblett and former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will headline UFC 324 in what marks the company’s first numbered card since the highly publicized seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount became official on Jan. 1.
Pimblett and Gaethje will be fighting for the interim lightweight title belt after champion Ilia Topuria announced a leave of absence from the sport amidst mounting personal issues. As a result, the winner of Gaethje vs. Pimblett will be directly in line for a shot at Topuria’s undisputed title belt upon his return.
UFC 324 also marks the first time that Pimblett, arguably the UFC’s most viral star over the past two years, will finally get the chance to main event a numbered card. Pimblett, a Liverpool native, became a fan favorite long before he was in the main event picture and even before he was in the UFC, owing to his brash, Conor McGregor-like demeanor and his catchy Scouse accent.
The first time Pimblett appeared on many sports fans’ radars was in September 2021, after he was nearly knocked out by a shot from Luigi Vendramini before quickly knocking out the Italian in the first round. When Michael Bisping was ribbing him about the close call during the in-octagon interview, Pimblett uttered a sentence that has become synonymous with his career.
“I’m a Scouser,” Pimblett said, looking at the camera. “We don’t get knocked out.”
Since that evening at the UFC Apex, Pimblett’s rise both in and out of the Octagon has been meteoric. He still hasn’t lost a fight in the UFC, beating Rodrigo Vargas and Jordan Leavitt by rear-naked choke submission in back-to- back fights.
His next two fights saw him defeat Jared Gordon and Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision, both in Las Vegas and both accompanied by post-fight interviews that only raised his stock. Pimblett’s most recent fight, a vicious TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April, was ultimately what solidified his position on a main card.
“It’s an honor,” Pimblett said. “It shows how much the UFC trusts me. They know me and Justin will put on a good fight. And it’s a world title fight. I’ve been saying it for 16 years now for this to happen, and it’s finally here.”
Gaethje, on the other hand, sees Pimblett as the final obstacle in the way of what could very well be the last title shot of his career. At 37 years old, that also means he knows the reality of what will happen to his stock if he falters on Saturday night. However, most people probably would have assumed Gaetjhe’s title prospects ended the moment he lost an all-time war to Max Holloway in spectacular fashion at UFC 300.
A lights-out performance against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 proved Gaethje still had plenty of gas left in his tank, but he still hadn’t done enough since his loss to Holloway to be deemed worthy of a title shot. A win Saturday makes that title shot all but official.
And while a win would make Gaethje a two-time UFC interim champion, fans know good and well what Gaethje thinks of those. Or at least what he thought.
When he won it the first time, he threw his belt on the canvas, but this time around he realizes the importance of what he’s about to embark on.
“I definitely won’t be (tossing the belt),” Gaethje said. “As I got older, I’m wiser, and I understand that an interim belt is the same exact thing as an undisputed belt on paper for my pay. And it certainly gives me the biggest fight possible next, so this is huge. Huge for my legacy.”
The co-main event will feature Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong in a bantamweight bout that will likely see the winner go on to face champion Petr Yan later in the year. Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes were also slated for a highly anticipated matchup on the card, but Harrison pulled out last week due to injury.
Paddy Pimblett sizes up Justin Gaethje as UFC comes to Paramount
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Paddy Pimblett sizes up Justin Gaethje as UFC comes to Paramount
- Pimblett and Gaethje will be fighting for the interim lightweight title belt after champion Ilia Topuria announced a leave of absence from the sport amidst mounting personal issues
History-chasing Djokovic and Alcaraz to meet in Australian Open final after epic semifinal wins
- Carlos Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam
- Novak Djokovic is aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic finally beat one of the two men who have been blocking his path to an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title when he edged Jannik Sinner in five sets Friday to reach the Australian Open final.
To get that coveted No. 25, he’ll next have to beat the other: top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.
They’re both chasing history in Sunday’s championship decider, with the 22-year-old Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
The top-ranked Alcaraz also had to come through a grueling five-setter. He fended off No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in a match that started in the warmth of the afternoon Friday and, 5 hours and 27 minutes later, became the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open.
That pushed the start of Djokovic’s match against Sinner back a couple of hours, and the 38-year-old Djokovic finally finished off a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win just after 1:30 a.m.
“It feels surreal,” Djokovic said of his 4-hour, 9-minute triumph. “Honestly, it feels like winning already tonight. I know I have to come back … and fight the No. 1 of the world. I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with him.
“That’s my desire. Let the God decide the winner.”
Djokovic was at the peak of his defensive powers, fending off 16 of the 18 breakpoints he faced against the two-time defending Australian Open champion. It ended a run of five losses to Sinner, and a run of four semifinal exits for Djokovic at the majors.
“Had many chances, couldn’t use them, and that’s the outcome,” Sinner said. “Yeah, it hurts, for sure.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have split the last eight major titles between them since Djokovic won his last title at the 2023 US Open.
Nobody knows how to win more at Melbourne Park than Djokovic. He has won all 10 times he’s contested the Australian Open final.
He said he saw Alcaraz after the first of the semifinals was over and he congratulated him on reaching his first final at Melbourne Park.
“He said sorry to delay,” Djokovic later explained. “I told him ‘I’m an old man, I need to go earlier to sleep!”
Djokovic, aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title, was kept up late.
“I’m looking forward to meeting him on Sunday,” he said.
Final 4
With the top four seeds reaching the Australian Open men’s semifinals for just the fifth time, Day 13 was destined to produce some drama. The season-opening major had been a relatively slow burn, until the back-to-back five-setters lasting a combined 9 hours and 36 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, surpassed the 2009 classic between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco as the longest ever Australian Open semifinal.
Medical timeout
Alcaraz was as close as two points from victory in the third set but was hampered by pain in his upper right leg and his medical timeout became contentious.
He said initially it didn’t feel like cramping because the pain seemed to be just in one muscle, the right adductor, and he needed an assessment.
He navigated the third and fourth sets and was behind in the fifth after dropping serve in the first game. He kept up the pressure but didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match. He then won the last four games.
“I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit,” Alcaraz said. “Just really, really happy to get the win, that I came back. I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won.”
Believe
Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz admitted he was struggling but said kept “believing, believing, all the time.”
“I’ve been in these situations, I’ve been in these kinds of matches before, so I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball.”
Zverev was demonstrably upset about the time out out in the third set, taking it up with a tournament supervisor, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment and a massage on the leg.
After the match, he maintained that he didn’t think it was right, but he didn’t think it should overshadow the match.
“I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia,” he said “It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”
