Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett to fight for interim lightweight title - ESPN

An interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett will headline UFC 324 on Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday.

The event will mark the first of the UFC's new domestic broadcast deal with Paramount+, and feature a main card start time of 9 p.m. ET. White broke the news during Thursday's NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. Ilia Topuria (17-0) will remain the UFC's undisputed lightweight champion, but the promotion opted to implement an interim title in January, after the 28-year-old announced he needed time off for personal reasons.

«I won't be fighting in the first quarter of next year,» Topuria 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.»

Gaethje (26-5) hasn't fought since a decision win against Rafael Fiziev in March. The 37-year-old had said he would likely retire from MMA, had the UFC not booked him a title fight in his next appearance. Gaethje earned a lightweight title shot by knocking out Dustin Poirier in 2023, but risked it in 2024 when the company needed a marquee bout for UFC 300. Gaethje accepted a BMF bout against Max Holloway and suffered a fifth-round knockout loss.

Fighting out of Denver, Gaethje won an interim championship by knocking out Tony Ferguson in 2020. He came up short in a bid to unify the titles against Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year.

Pimblett (23-3) has been one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport since he signed with the