talkSPORT betting tips – Best bets and expert advice for UFC 324

An interim Lightweight title fight headlines the first UFC card of 2026 as Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje go head-to-head.

With current champion Ilia Topuria taking a break from the sport to deal with personal issues, the Englishman gets his first shot at the title against the veteran American.

Former Bantamweight king Sean O’Malley returns in the co-main event against rising contender Song Yadong. 

Here we preview some of the best bets from UFC 324.

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UFC 324 Tips

• Paddy Pimblett to win by Submission @ 31/20
• Sean O’Malley to win @ 1/2
• Ateba Gautier to win in Round 1 @ 10/11 

Paddy to land gold

Fireworks are almost certainly guaranteed as Paddy Pimblett (23-3-0 Pro, 7-0-0 UFC) takes on Justin Gaethje (26-5-0 Pro, 9-5-0 UFC) in the first main event of the UFC’s new US TV deal with Paramount+.

Pimblett has navigated an unbeaten record inside the Octagon and gets this opportunity off the back of a third-round TKO win over Michael Chandler last April. 

On paper, jumping straight into a title fight may not fully stack up, but the popularity of the Liverpool fighter was enough for the UFC top brass to give him the nod.

After a blistering start to his UFC career, a contentious decision win over Jared Gordon in April 2022 slowed down the hype surrounding Pimblett.

However, the 31-year-old’s evolution since has been impressive, with wins over Tony Ferguson, King Green and the aforementioned Chandler. 

All three of those victories were against veterans of the sport, a moniker that now hangs around Gaethje’s neck. 

A former interim champion, the American twice fought for unified gold but lost both match-ups by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. 

Gaethje won the BMF title with a headkick KO of Dustin Poirier in the summer of 2023, but lost the belt when he was knocked out by Max Holloway in the final second of their fight at UFC 300.

A back-and-forth victory over Rafael Fiziev last time out in March 2025 once again showed why the 37-year-old has been nicknamed the “human highlight reel”, gaining a total of 14 post-fight bonuses. 

With five post-fight bonuses from his seven wins, slick submissions and ever-growing striking threat, Pimblett is the one with momentum here.

The 31-year-old, who is big for the 155lb division, is the pick to get the job done here and hand Gaethje a third successive submission loss in title class. 

“Suga” to put on a show

Former Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (18-3-0, 1 NC Pro, 10-3-0, 1 NC UFC) finds himself on a two-fight losing streak for the first time in his career as he prepares to face Song Yadong (22-8-1 Pro, 11-3-1 UFC).

O’Malley was submitted by Merab Dvalishvili in the third round last time out in the pair’s rematch in June. 

The initial match-up saw the American lose his 135lb title to the Georgian over five rounds in September 2024.

The now 31-year-old spectacularly knocked out Aljamain Sterling in the second round to win the title and went on to defend against Marlon Vera, gaining revenge for his only other career defeat. 

Yadong earned a career-best win over Henry Cejudo last time out via technical decision, with the fight ending early due to an accidental eye poke by the Chinese fighter.

The 28-year-old has good wins over Chris Gutierrez, Ricky Simón and Marlon Moraes but has so far come up short against the division’s elite fighters such as Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. 

The losses to Dvalishvili looked to have drained O’Malley’s confidence, but Yadong won’t bring the same exhausting threat. 

At his best, O’Malley is a slick striker with explosive knockout power and although the Chinese fighter is a tough opponent, the style clash could well suit the American, who is the pick to get a morale-boosting win. 

Gautier to demonstrate middleweight power

Ateba Gautier (9-1-0 Pro, 3-0-0 UFC) can once again look impressive against Andrey Pulyaev (10-3-0 Pro, 1-1-0 UFC).

Gautier, who fights out of Manchester Top Team, has three first-round knockout wins to his name so far in the UFC when defeating José Medina, Robert Valentin and Tre’ston Vines.

Pulyaev lost his UFC debut, going the distance with Christian Leroy Duncan, but managed to get a second-round TKO against Nick Klein last time out.

Dubbed “the Middleweight Ngannou”, the Cameroonian brings huge size and explosive power to the 185lb division and shouldn’t have any trouble showcasing that again here.

Bigger tests await the 23-year-old, who is once again a huge favourite and we expect Gautier to land heavy in the first round and look to blast out the Russian.

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