{"id":393317,"date":"2026-01-22T16:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T21:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?p=393317"},"modified":"2026-01-22T16:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T21:08:09","slug":"ufc-324-predictions-picks-best-bets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/ufc-324-predictions-picks-best-bets\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 324 predictions, picks and best bets: Expect Gaethje vs. Pimblett title fight to go deep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It&#8217;s only January, but UFC 324&#8217;s main event between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett has the potential to be the fight of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The pre-fight narrative:<\/strong> Gaethje and Pimblett battle for the interim lightweight championship with Ilia Topuria on leave for the foreseeable future. Pimblett, who has won nine in a row and is unbeaten in the UFC, is a -245 favourite to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out my UFC 324 predictions for the Jan. 24 event in Las Vegas, featuring a betting pick on Sean O&#8217;Malley vs. Song Yadong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-> <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.com\/promoRedirect?key=ej0xMzUyNTA0MiZsPTEzNTI1MDAwJnA9ODMzNw%3D%3D\">Join NorthStar Bets to start betting on UFC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UFC 324 predictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Best bet:<\/strong> <strong>Gaethje vs. Pimblett over 2.5 rounds (-118)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both fighters have devastating finishing power, and the odds indicate this one won&#8217;t go the distance (-278 to finish inside five rounds). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just take a look at their respective resumes, and you can understand why: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gaethje (26-5 MMA record):<\/strong> 20 KOs, 1 SUBs, 67% finish rate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pimblett (26-3 MMA record):<\/strong> 7 KOs, 10 SUBs, 58% finish rate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But that cuts both ways. Gaethje and Pimblett should spend the majority of the first round in a feeling-out process, giving respect to each other&#8217;s abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I expect bombs to be thrown eventually, and even then, for each fighter to battle through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-> <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.com\/promoRedirect?key=ej0xMzUyNTA0MiZsPTEzNTI1MDAwJnA9ODMzNw%3D%3D\">Check out full <strong>Gaethje vs. Pimblett<\/strong> betting markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gaethje is tough as nails and has never been knocked out inside of 2.5 rounds in his MMA career. The American is also more of a kickboxer by nature, which will help him keep distance from Pimblett&#8217;s takedowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I lean toward Gaethje pulling off an upset for those reasons, but will stay away from picking a winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pimblett started his UFC career with four straight first-round finishes against low-level competition. Since then, he&#8217;s gone over this mark in three of his last five, with two fights going to the scorer&#8217;s table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Liverpool native has also never been knocked out and has the chin to absorb Gaethje&#8217;s attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key stat:<\/strong> Each fighter has gone over this mark in three of their last four fights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"product_only\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.com\/promoRedirect?key=ej0xMzUyNTA0MiZsPTEzNTI1MDAwJnA9ODMzNw%3D%3D\">See all UFC 324 betting lines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sean O&#8217;Malley vs. Song Yadong UFC prediction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fight to not go the distance (+140):<\/strong> These are two of the best strikers the UFC has to offer, with contrasting styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O&#8217;Malley has the reach and accuracy to chip away at Yadong, while Yadong would like to get in close and land a flurry of punches on the American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not sure which style will win out, but expect someone to take a bunch of damage and get put out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yadong will probably want to force the issue, given O&#8217;Malley&#8217;s status as a favourite and ability to dictate the pace with his reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That could work in his favour, or it could set up O&#8217;Malley for another highlight-reel KO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>73% of O&#8217;Malley&#8217;s UFC fights have ended inside<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>55% of Yadong&#8217;s UFC fights have ended inside<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UFC 324 preliminary card best bet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nurmagomedov to win by decision (-138):<\/strong> Nurmagomedov is next up in a long line of Dagestani fighters looking for UFC gold. He had a chance at UFC 311, but lost via decision to Merab Dvalishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Umar bounced back quickly with a win over Mario Bautista and now faces Deiveson Figueiredo, who&#8217;s in the twilight of his career with two losses in his last three fights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 38-year-old Brazilian is a massive underdog and is basically being thrown to the wolves on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-> <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.com\/promoRedirect?key=ej0xMzUyNTA0MiZsPTEzNTI1MDAwJnA9ODMzNw%3D%3D\">Don&#8217;t miss out \u2014 Go to NorthStar Bets to place your UFC wagers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Picking Nurmagomedov to win via finish might seem sensible, but I think this will go to the scorer&#8217;s table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Figueiredo is a former flyweight champion with only three KO\/Sub losses in 31 fights. One of them was after tearing his ACL during a fairly routine leg lock, and the other was due to a doctor&#8217;s stoppage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No one wants to wrestle with a Dagestani, but Figueiredo&#8217;s black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn&#8217;t anything to scoff at, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four of Nurmagomedov&#8217;s last five wins have been via decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-> <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.com\/promoRedirect?key=ej0xMzUyNTA0MiZsPTEzNTI1MDAwJnA9ODMzNw%3D%3D\">Sign up to NorthStar Bets today<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>UFC 324 predictions made at 2 p.m. ET on Jan. 22, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s only January, but UFC 324&#8217;s main event between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett has the potential to be the fight of the year. The pre-fight narrative: Gaethje and Pimblett battle for the interim lightweight championship with Ilia Topuria on leave for the foreseeable future. Pimblett, who has won nine in a row and is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":393241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sidebar_plugin_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[452,63],"tags":[141],"class_list":["post-393317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-com","category-ufc","tag-ufc"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UFC 324 predictions, picks and best bets: Gaethje vs. Pimblett<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check out our UFC 324 predictions for Jan. 24, 2026. 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