Overview
- Justin Gaethje defeated Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) to become a two-time interim lightweight champion in a five-round slugfest featuring roughly 300 significant strikes and two Gaethje knockdowns.
- The Paramount+ opener rolled out $100,000 Fight of the Night awards and a $25,000 finish bonus, with Dana White paying out about $450,000 in bonuses after multiple early stoppages.
- Early highlights included first-round buzzer-beater knockouts by Ty Miller and Josh Hokit and a knockout win by Alex Perez, following some on-air hiccups during the new broadcast’s first card.
- Sportsbooks opened a projected Gaethje–Ilia Topuria unification with Topuria around -600 and Gaethje +400, as Gaethje signaled he expects that matchup when the undisputed champion returns.
- Post-fight reactions split: Arman Tsarukyan derided Pimblett and angled for a shot at Gaethje if Topuria remains out, Gaethje called Pimblett’s pre-fight mindset “terrible,” Israel Adesanya praised the bout’s impact on the new era, and Josh Barnett criticized its technique.