UFC Begins New Era With Stacked Card

The UFC’s post-PPV era will get underway on Saturday night at UFC 324, and the promotion isn’t waiting to deliver the goods to a broader audience with a loaded card looming in Las Vegas.

With lightweight champion Ilia Topuria out of the picture for the time being, Saturday night will be headlined by an interim lightweight championship bout between Justin Gaethje, who previously held the interim belt for six months, and Paddy Pimblett -- who remains undefeated in the UFC, and is fresh off consecutive Performance of the Night nods.

Oddsmakers like Pimblett’s scorching start to life in the UFC to continue, with the Scouse scrapper a -240 favourite. Gaethje, meanwhile, comes back as a +180 underdog.

It's a similar outlook in the preceding fight, where one of the UFC's biggest stars will try to rebound from back-to-back humbling losses. 

After first losing his bantamweight belt to, and then failing to win it back from, Merab Dvalishvili, Suga' Sean O'Malley will head into the octagon as a -210 favourite against Song Yadong. A +160 underdog, Yadong will try to vault himself into contender status with a win.  

The night's show-stoppers, however, might just be found in the middle of the main event -- when Waldo Cortes-Acosta squares off against Derrick Lewis in a true heavyweight brawl. After an incredible five-fight 2025, in which he went 4-1, Cortes-Acosta comes in as a considerable favourite at -370. Lewis, who fought just once in 2025 -- a 35-second knockout of Tallison Teixeira -- comes back as a +270 underdog.

With a combined 28 knockout finishes in the UFC between the pair, you won’t want to be late to Round 1 as Lewis and Cortes-Acosta collide.

From a rising star in need of a rebound, to an interim belt up for grabs, to quick-stopping heavyweights on a collision course, UFC 324 promises to start the year off with a bang.

Click here to see all UFC 324 markets at BET99.

Odds as of January 20, 2026.