The first UFC event of 2026 on Saturday brought the action we’ve missed during the six-week break. The interim lightweight matchup between two of the toughest fighters in MMA somehow went the distance after five bloody rounds. Justin Gaethje earned every bit of his unanimous decision victory over Paddy Pimblett and took home a second career interim belt. The win likely sets up a unification bout with champion Ilia Topuria in the spring.

Sean O’Malley returned to his winning ways against Song Yadong after nearly two years without an Octagon victory. The relief on O’Malley’s face after his arm was raised was clear, and with a familiar O’Malley foe back in control of the men’s bantamweight division, maybe a path back to the title picture is in view for “Suga.”

Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale and Jeff Wagenheim give their takeaways on those bouts and the performances of Natalia Silva and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who might also have championship opportunities in their futures.

Gaethje ain’t finished yet

Rumors of Gaethje’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Although Gaethje has openly discussed closing in on the final chapter of his excellent fighting career, “The Highlight” showed against Pimblett that he has gas left in the tank. After Gaethje lost by a brutal knockout to Max Holloway, the expectation was that his violent fighting style had finally caught up with him and taken too many years off his career.

While that might be true to a degree, it’s not quite over for Gaethje, who is now in line for a unification fight with Topuria, who is on a self-imposed hiatus from MMA.

What we saw from Gaethje was a violent, offensive outing that nearly proved wrong Pimblett’s proclamation that “scousers don’t get knocked out.” Gaethje nearly finished Pimblett in the first and second rounds, then endured a surge from the fighter from Liverpool, England, in the third round before Gaethje closed the show and left his opponent’s face a swollen, bloody mess. That’s what MMA fans have always loved about Gaethje. He never has a bad fight, and he will backflip off the top of the cage into the Hall of Fame after he decides to hang up the gloves. Against Pimblett, he routinely tested his opponent’s chin with overhand rights. Pimblett deserves a ton of credit for maintaining his consciousness throughout the fight, but this was Gaethje’s night.

He’ll likely be a significant underdog against Topuria, but that doesn’t take away from Gaethje’s exhilarating performance on a night that once again ended with gold wrapped around his waist. — Hale

The win over Yadong is O’Malley’s second victory in a month

Those who have been keeping up will remember that O’Malley came into his unanimous decision win over Yadong at UFC 324 having lost two fights in a row, including his only appearance of 2025. But the previous “Suga Sean” victory I’m referring to is a December fight he watched from home — Merab Dvalishvili‘s men’s bantamweight championship loss to Petr Yan at UFC 323. Dvalishvili was the one who had handed O’Malley his two straight losses, and getting a third shot at him and the belt would have been difficult. Now, with Yan as champion, O’Malley is back in title contention, especially considering that he owns a win over Yan.

O’Malley didn’t make the most emphatic championship statement, though. Neither did fellow contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who dominated former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo earlier in the card. Considering that Dvalishvili’s loss broke a 14-fight winning streak and was his fourth fight of 2025, the UFC would be wise to let him run it back with Yan while O’Malley and Nurmagomedov continue to marinate their candidacy. — Wagenheim

Cortes-Acosta should have our attention, but not yet our confidence

The headline for this section probably sounds like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not meant to be. Waldo Cortes-Acosta has now won eight of his past nine, which is wildly impressive in the UFC. He also has knockouts in his past three bouts against legit competition, including Saturday, when he stepped just out of range of Derrick Lewis and dropped him with a shot that looked to be thrown with about 5% effort.

He deserves a ton of credit for this massive hot streak, and there are little nuances to his game that make him as dangerous as any heavyweight. But the way he defeated Ante Delija in November was strange and controversial, following an eye poke that initially looked like it was going to be a loss for Cortes-Acosta. And he is less than six months away from the loss to Sergei Pavlovich.

Cortes-Acosta has a lot going for himself. He’s one of the few legitimate heavyweight title contenders and is building momentum with his willingness to fight so frequently.

But with Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov and other contenders in his sights, Cortes-Acosta will be considered an underdog until he proves he can win at the top level. — Okamoto

Silva should leapfrog Fiorot to get to Shevchenko

Natalia Silva was not pleased with her UFC 324 performance, and the crowd at T-Mobile Arena booed the judges’ decision, but beating Rose Namajunas is a significant step forward for the 28-year-old.

For one thing, it ran Silva’s winning streak to 14 fights and made her 8-0 in the UFC. Adding significance, Namajunas was the third consecutive former UFC champion Silva has defeated after Jessica Andrade in 2024 and Alexa Grasso last year. That golden run could earn Silva a shot at the women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko.

Timing is everything, and considering that the one flyweight ranked ahead of Silva, Manon Fiorot, lost to Shevchenko in May, it appears Silva has a clear path. If she does get to challenge the champion, Silva’s hit-and-move style could make the fight look much like Shevchenko’s dominant win over Fiorot. But if Silva has earned it, she should get the opportunity. — Wagenheim

The first UFC event of 2026 kicked off the new deal with Paramount in a big way on Saturday when UFC 324 went down from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The landmark event ended in spectacular fashion with Justin Gaethje defeating Paddy Pimblett to capture the interim lightweight championship in an instant classic.

The night was filled with big moments and impressive performances that set up what should be a massive year in the Octagon.

Among those who came away with big wins aside from Gaethje were Sean O’Malley, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Natalia Silva. However, Pimblett also walked away as a winner after his gutsy performance in defeat against Gaethje.

UFC 324: Paddy Pimblett elevates his status in defeat after incredible display of heart and resilience

Shakiel Mahjouri

With that in mind, we took a look at some of the biggest takeaways from UFC 324. Let’s get into it.

Gaethje is at his best fighting on instinct

Justin Gaethje is interim lightweight champion once again, and he owes it all to fighting the way that made him one of the sport’s most popular fighters. In recent years, Gaethje has attempted to fight with more of a strategic and tactical mind. That all went out the window against Paddy Pimblett on Saturday night. When Pimblett began to flow offensively, tagging Gaethje with flurries of crisp shots, Gaethje reverted to his old self, throwing down and meeting fire with fire. And Gaethje’s fire has power few can match, as evidenced by the repeated knockdowns of Pimblett. When Gaethje is fighting instinctively, his opponents have to bring their game to an entire new level and go to places few other opponents can take them. That’s why Gaethje is heading home with UFC gold.

“Yeah, my coach was definitely upset with me after the first round,” Gaethje said of Saturday’s performance. “I just love this shit so much, it’s really hard to control myself sometimes.”

Pimblett may have won in defeat

Sure, being an interim champion is better than any sort of moral victory, but Pimblett has plenty to be proud about. Very few men can stand up to five rounds of Gaethje’s power. Pimblett showed the kind of heart and toughness that isn’t able to be taught, it’s something a fighter either has or doesn’t. Pimblett faced some criticism for not “deserving” a shot at an interim title, but he proved he belongs in the Octagon with the best of the best. Even as things were going bad, Pimblett never stopped trying to win and continued to hit Gaethje with clean punches, kicks and knees.

Pimblett was one half of an instant classic and anyone who says they didn’t gain respect for the Liverpool, England native is lying. As Pimblett once said, “Scousers don’t get knocked out.” What was once a cheeky saying suddenly feels as though it might be rooted in reality.

Sean O’Malley shoots himself back into title contention

O’Malley entered Saturday having lost back-to-back championship fights to Merab Dvalishvili. It was only fair to wonder if O’Malley simply ran into a fighter who had his number, or if his time at the top of the bantamweight division was over shortly after it began. Against Song Yadong, O’Malley took a patient, professional approach, not forcing the issue against a dangerous striker in an attempt to prove something larger than can be shown in a single round. By the third round, O’Malley was rolling, tagging Yadong with a variety of strikes and asserting his dominance. With the win, O’Malley is right back in title contention, though he’ll have to wait for the rematch between Dvalishvili and the man who defeated him to win the title, Petr Yan. O’Malley already holds a split decision win over Yan, making for an attractive title opportunity if Yan wins the trilogy with Dvalishvili.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Natalia Silva make their title contention cases

Cortes-Acosta faced a serious test and one of the biggest stars in the UFC when he took on Derrick Lewis. Cortes-Acosta pitched a near-shutout against the UFC record holder for most knockouts, picking spots to drill Lewis with heavy leg kicks and straight punches until Lewis had nothing left and ended up on the ground, seemingly giving up as Cortes-Acosta pounded away with strikes to force the stoppage. In a heavyweight division in flux with champion Tom Aspinall sidelined for the foreseeable future due to eye injuries suffered against Cyril Gane, Cortes-Acosta made a solid case for an interim title shot.

As for Silva, it was already stated that a win over Rose Namajunas would earn her a title shot. Namajunas made it difficult, forcing Silva to scrap for every bit of ground. In the end, Silva won the fight by unanimous decision, picking up a third consecutive victory over a former UFC champion. Now, Silva can look forward to the challenge of facing Valentina Schevchenko for the women’s flyweight championship.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who is out for Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, is expected to be sidelined 12 weeks after undergoing surgery last week on his broken right ankle, sources told ESPN.

The recovery, not the surgery, is not thought to be the most challenging part of this injury. Nix is not supposed to put any weight on his ankle for at least four weeks, and he will miss 12 weeks altogether before he can return to activity, according to sources.

This eliminates any notion, far-fetched as it was, that Nix could somehow possibly pull a miraculous return for the Sunday, Feb. 8 Super Bowl LX in the event that Denver does advance.

During Sunday’s AFC Championship game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Nix will be in a box with other injured Broncos, off his feet as doctors have instructed him to be.

Nix is expected to be largely recovered in time to be able to participate in the Broncos’ offseason program, but doctors are trying to be very intentional with what Denver’s quarterback can and can’t do over the next 12 weeks.

Nix suffered the injury late in overtime of Denver’s victory over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. Broncos coach Sean Payton delivered the news in the aftermath of the game and immediately named Jarrett Stidham as the Broncos’ starting quarterback in the AFC Championship Game.

This marks the third time that Nix has broken his ankle playing football, but this break was in a different spot and doctors have told him that the injury is “nothing to be concerned about long term,” according to a source.

In the short term, the Broncos are replacing Nix with Stidham, who was the first free agent that Payton signed after he accepted Denver’s head coaching job.

“I’m not worried about Stiddy in this game,” Payton told reporters Friday. “I’m worried about everyone else and how we play. That really is the truth.”

Broncos Country also has publicly backed Stidham, with thousands of fans changing their social media avatars to photos of Stidham wearing sunglasses and earbuds. The picture is visible this week all over social media.

But while Stidham makes his first start of the season, Nix will miss the AFC Championship Game and a showdown against his good friend and quarterback draft classmate Drake Maye. The two quarterbacks have spent countless hours training together during the offseason, largely at Philip Rivers‘ training complex in Fairhope, Ala.

Nix, Maye and Rivers share an agent, and they grew close in the process leading up to the 2024 NFL draft and the offseasons that followed.