Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for interim title headlines UFC 324 on Jan. 24

The UFC enters its post-pay-per-view era on Paramount+ with a pair of championships up for grabs: one an anticipated superfight and the other far more unexpected.

UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas will be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett — with undisputed champion Ilia Topuria not involved — and women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison defending her crown for the first time against UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion Amanda Nunes, the UFC announced Thursday.

UFC CEO Dana White revealed the details of the event, to be held at T-Mobile Arena, during a segment at halftime of their new broadcast partner’s CBS-aired NFL game as the Kansas City Chiefs visited the Dallas Cowboys.

“This card is absolutely stacked — every fight is a must-see,” White said in a statement released by the UFC announcing the event.

The creation of an interim title at 155 pounds comes in the wake of Topuria revealing on social media Thursday that he dealing with “a difficult moment in my personal life” and would not be available to fight during the first quarter of 2026, adding that he did not wish “to hold up the division.”

Gaethje (26-5, 21 finishes) is a previous interim lightweight champ and BMF titleholder who enters the fight with Pimblett (23-3, 17 finishes), a rising star from Liverpool, England, as the more decorated man vying for UFC interim gold.

The winner would go on to face Topuria for the undisputed championship later in 2026, White said in a statement released by the promotion.

The announcement comes on the heels of No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan picking up an impressive victory Saturday in Doha, Qatar, against Dan Hooker in Tsarukyan’s first fight since he was forced out — citing sciatica as the root cause — on weigh-in day before a scheduled championship matchup against then-champion Islam Makhachev in January.

Gaethje and Pimblett are ranked Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, in the UFC’s own media-driven rankings at 155 pounds.

The Harrison-Nunes fight — a bout years in the making dating back even to their time as teammates at American Top Team while competing for separate organizations — comes with significantly more anticipation after the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo defeated Julianna Peña in June at Prudential Center to reach the top of the mountain at 135 pounds.

Women’s MMA legend Nunes (23-5, 17 finishes), the longtime simultaneous queen of both 135 and 145 pounds who received the UFC’s highest honor with her Hall of Fame induction a few weeks after Harrison became champion, had made known back in April her intentions to return from a two-year retirement from competition.

Nunes, who retired as two-weight champion following a successful June 2023 title defense at bantamweight, told The Post in June that she had been targeting a return near the end of 2025, but she only had to wait a little longer for her next matchup.

“I’m going to be a champ again, and I’m going to defend the belt,” Nunes told The Post.

After the championship victory by Harrison (19-1, 14 finishes) in Newark, Nunes entered the octagon for a jovial interaction between the former friends and teammates to set the stage for what White referred to as “definitely the biggest women’s fight ever.”

Other announced 324 matchups revealed by the promotion include:

• Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (18-3, 13 finishes) vs. 27-year-old contender Song Yadong (22-8-1, 12 finishes) of China at 135 pounds
• Waldo Cortes Acosta (16-2, nine finishes), who won four of five fights this year including three by knockout, vs. UFC KO record-holder Derrick Lewis (29-12, 25 finishes) at heavyweight
• Top-11 contenders Arnold Allen (20-3, 11 finishes) vs. Jean Silva (16-3, 15 finishes) at featherweight
• Ex-women’s flyweight champ Alexa Grasso (16-5-1, six finishes) vs. former two-time strawweight titlist Rose Namajunas (14-7, seven finishes) at 125 pounds
• Up-and-comers Ateba Gautier (9-1, eight finishes) vs. Andrey Pulyaev (10-3, eight finishes) at middleweight

More fights are expected to be announced over the next eight weeks before fight night.

Now referred to in UFC-provided media materials as marquee numbered events — long colloquially called pay-per-views or PPVs for short — UFC 324 will stream its main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET, an hour earlier than the traditional 10 p.m. for events held in the Americas, for the first time since UFC 140 on Dec. 10, 2011.

All fights, including the prelims beginning at 7 p.m. and the early prelims slated to start at 5 p.m., will air on Paramount+ at no additional cost to subscribers.

“This deal is such a huge win for fans with no more pay-per-view,” White said.

Tickets for UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett will be available to purchase beginning 10 a.m. PT Dec. 12 at AXS.com.