The first event of the Paramount+ era is in the books after UFC 324 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
A new interim lightweight champion was crowned in the main event when Justin Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) outworked Paddy Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) for a unanimous decision in a classic five-round battle that earned Fight of the Night honors.
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For more on the numbers to come out of the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 324.
Event stats
UFC 324 marked the first event in UFC history to feature two finishes occurring with one second left in a round. The first two fights on the card ended at the 4:59 mark of Round 1.
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $269,500.
Gaethje, Pimblett, Josh Hokit and Ty Miller earned $100,000 UFC 324 fight-night bonuses. Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Nikita Krylov were issued $25,000 finish bonuses.
Debuting fighters went 0-1 on the card.
UFC 324 drew an announced attendance of 19,481 for a live gate of $10,951,166.
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Betting favorites went 8-3 on the card.
Betting favorites fell to 0-1 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 2:16:25.
Justin Gaethje def. Paddy Pimblett
Gaethje became the first two-time interim UFC champion.
Gaethje has been awarded 15 fight-night bonuses in 15 UFC appearances.
Gaethje’s 15 UFC fight-night bonuses since 2017 are most of any fighter in the company.
Gaethje’s 10 Fight of the Night bonuses in UFC competition are tied with Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza for most in company history.
Pimblett has suffered three of his four career losses by decision.
Sean O’Malley def. Song Yadong
Sean O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) has earned five of his 11 UFC victories by decision.
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Song Yadong (22-9-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) has suffered five of his six career losses by decision.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Derrick Lewis
Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has earned 11 of his 17 career victories by stoppage.
Derrick Lewis (29-13 MMA, 20-11 UFC) fell to 3-5 in his past eight fights dating back to February 2022.
Lewis has suffered 10 of his 11 UFC losses by stoppage.
Natalia Silva def. Rose Namajunas
Natalia Silva’s (20-5-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) eight-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Silva has earned six of her eight UFC victories by decision.
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Rose Namajunas (14-8 MMA, 12-7 UFC) fell to 3-3 since she moved up to the women’s flyweight division in September 2023.
Namajunas has suffered five of her seven career losses by decision.
Jean Silva def. Arnold Allen
Jean Silva (17-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his UFC career.
Arnold Allen (20-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
Umar Nurmagomedov def. Deiveson Figueiredo
Umar Nurmagomedov (20-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has earned four of his seven UFC victories by decision.
Deiveson Figueiredo (25-6-1 MMA, 14-6-1 UFC) fell to 4-3 since he moved up to the UFC bantamweight division in December 2023.
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Figueiredo has suffered two of his four career losses by decision.
Ateba Gautier def. Andrey Pulyaev
Ateba Gautier (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has earned nine of his 10 career victories by stoppage.
Gautier earned his first decision victory since his MMA debut on May 15, 2021 – a span of _ days and 10 fights.
Andrey Pulyaev (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered three of his four career losses by decision.
Nikita Krylov def. Modestas Bukauskas
Nikita Krylov (30-11 MMA, 12-9 UFC) improved to 6-6 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2018.
Krylov improved to 14-8 since he dropped to the light heavyweight division in March 2014.
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Krylov has earned 28 of his 30 career victories by stoppage. That includes 10 of his 12 UFC wins.
Modestas Bukauskas (20-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) fell to 6-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2023.
Bukauskas has suffered six of his seven career losses by stoppage.
Alex Perez def. Charles Johnson
Alex Perez (25-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC) has earned six of his eight UFC victories by stoppage.
Charles Johnson (18-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a knockout defeat.
Josh Hokit def. Denzel Freeman
Josh Hokit (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage.
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Denzel Freeman (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a TKO defeat.
Ty Miller def. Adam Fugitt
Ty Miller (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all three of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
Adam Fugitt (10-6 MMA, 2-5 UFC) has suffered four of his six career losses by stoppage.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
The best facts to come out of UFC 324, which saw ….
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 324 post-event facts: Justin Gaethje makes history in multiple ways
