Fans won’t be seeing Ilia Topuria inside the Octagon anytime soon.
The UFC lightweight champion was expected to make the first defense of his reign early next year, but those plans have changed and resulted in a controversial booking for the opening event of 2026.
Paramount’s broadcast deal will kick off with Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett headlining UFC 324 for an interim 155-pound title on January 24. That fight was announced shortly after Topuria announced that he was taking a break.
Joining ‘The Highlight’ and ‘The Baddy’ on the UFC 324 lineup is Sean O’Malley, and the former bantamweight champ recently reacted to the shock news that paved the way for the main event to come together.
LATEST NEWS: UFC 324 gets even deeper as ex-title challenger joins the Paramount debut card Who wins out of Sean O’Malley and Song Yadong and how do they get it done?
Sean O’Malley:
18-3-1 (10-3-1 in the UFC)Most notable wins over Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan, and Marlon VeraOnly losses to Merab Dvalishvili and Marlon Vera#2-ranked bantamweight Song Yadong:
22-8-1 (11-3-1 in the UFC)Most notable wins over Henry Cejudo, Marlon Moraes, and Marlon VeraMost notable losses to Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen#5-ranked bantamweight 👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Sean O’Malley agrees with Ilia Topuria’s decision to step away from the UFCTopuria’s sudden UFC hiatus comes as a result of issues in his personal life, and it will temporarily stall plans to cement his grip on the lightweight crown and begin his pursuit of a historic third divisional belt.
Many in the MMA community have been debating the Spaniard’s decision. Max Holloway publicly supported Topuria’s call, and O’Malley has now followed suit.
Reacting to the decision on The Ariel Helwani Show, ‘Suga’ stressed the importance of entering the Octagon free of the stress that comes from problems behind the scenes.
“I don’t blame him at all,” O’Malley said.
“If he’s going through that kind of stuff, divorce and relationship stuff, you’ve gotta figure out that personal stuff before you get into fight camp.
“Your mind needs to be ready, focused, sharp,” he continued. “You need a good team, good people around you when you’re dealing with that stuff.
“It is not a time to be in fight camp. I think he is making the right decision.”
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Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLCIlia Topuria’s next opponent will be decided at UFC 324On the same card that O’Malley makes his return, Topuria will discover who awaits him when he’s ready to make his return to competition later this year.
After making the UFC 324 announcement, Dana White confirmed that the main event winner would go on to unify the lightweight titles against ‘El Matador’ when he is prepared to make his return later in 2026.
Topuria has made it clear who he will be rooting for, having urged Pimblett to beat Gaethje so that the pair can settle their rivalry inside the Octagon.
Justin Gaethje has 6 finishes inside the UFC Octagon, while Paddy Pimblett has 5. Whose highlight reel is better? 👊
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
The Spanish star has previously hinted at fighting at the UFC White House event on June 14, so perhaps that will be the high-profile card on which he plans to make his first lightweight title defense.
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