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During one of the longest MMA breaks we’ve had in several years, it feels only right to look ahead and discuss the fights we are most looking forward to this year.

Last year, we received three of the fights on my annual list. Of the two that did not materialize, one was the talk of the year…until it wasn’t.

This year, the allure of getting on the much anticipated White House card has drawn competitors past and present to throw their hats in the cage. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that for some fighters, being on the White House card is the only thing making a return worth it.

But while that remains the most coveted date in 2026, there are a number of high profile match-ups that would be must see television this year. Not for nothing, there is also a new business structure to take into account. With the pay-per-view era coming to an end this year, will the exposure that comes on CBS and Paramount+ lead to more of these blockbuster fights being made by the UFC to bolster the new partnership?

Without further ado, let us delve into the top fights to make in 2026.

The post Top Five UFC Fights to Make in 2026 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Barring any withdrawals or last-minute additions, the card looks to be a solid numbered event, with two previously announced title fights, and several former champs and title challengers. Headlined by Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett vying for an interim lightweight championship, UFC 324 takes place on January 24, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kayla Harrison versus Amanda Nunes in a women’s bantamweight title fight, another previously announced match-up, serves as co-headliner. Nunes will return from retirement for the fight, which pits two of the best female mixed martial artists of all time against one another.

Nunes is a former UFC double champ (bantamweight and featherweight, often called the female GOAT). Harrison is an ex-two time PFL women’s lightweight champ, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, and the current 135lb champion in the UFC.

Among the fights confirmed by the UFC on Wednesday, ex-flyweight title challenger Alex Perez will meet Charles “Inner G” Johnson, in a battle of the #11 and #13 ranked 125’ers in the promotion. Veteran Michael Johnson will take on Alexander Hernandez at lightweight, while #13-ranked light heavyweight Nikita Krylov takes on former Cage Warriors star Modestas Bukauskas.

Bukauskas, on his second stint with the UFC, will almost certainly crack the top 15 with a victory in January.

The full slate of fights officially announced for UFC 324 stands as follows:

• Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett – for the interim UFC lightweight championship
• Kayla Harrison (c) vs. Amanda Nunes – for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship
• Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
• Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis
• Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva
• Natalia Silva vs. Rose Namajunas
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev
• Nikita Krylov vs. Modestas Bukauskas
• Alex Perez vs. Charles Johnson
• Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez
• Josh Hotkit vs. Denzel Freeman
• Ricky Turcios vs. Cameron Smotherman

The post Full 13 Fights Confirmed for UFC 324 As Promotion Prepares for Paramount+ Debut appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Thursday, UFC CEO and President Dana White announced that UFC 324 will be headlined by an interim lightweight championship fight, which sees Justin Gaethje (26-5) take on Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett (23-3). In the co-main event, the much-anticipated showdown between former teammates Kayla Harrison (19-1) and Amanda Nunes (23-5) arrives, with Harrison’s 135lb title on the line.

Gaethje vs. Pimblett comes in the wake of Ilia Topuria announcing that he would not be defending his lightweight title in the first quarter of 2026. Topuria won lightweight gold earlier this year, knocking out Charles Oliveira in June.

Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje has been holding out for a title fight since defeating Rafael Fiziev in March. He’s 3-1 across his last four, with the lone loss coming to Max Holloway at UFC 300. A former WSOF lightweight champ and bonus-winning machine since arriving in the UFC in 2017, Gaethje previously held an interim lightweight title after defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in 2020. That led to a failed attempt at becoming undisputed champ against Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year.

Pimblett, a former Cage Warriors star, is 7-0 since joining the UFC in 2021, with wins over the likes of Tony Ferguson, King Green, and Michael Chandler. The Liverpool-based fighter has quickly become one of the UFC’s most recognizable stars.

Harrison, a former two-time PFL champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, earned the UFC women’s bantamweight championship by defeating Julianna Pena earlier this year. That was enough to lure Amanda Nunes out of retirement; the two had seemed destined to collide until Nunes split a pair of fights with Pena in 2021-22, then dropped out of a rubber match the following year, replaced by Irene Aldana.

“The Lioness,” considered the UFC women’s GOAT, retired after she defeated Aldana at UFC 289 in Vancouver. With Harrison ascending to the top of the mountain, however, a fight between the two once again became a hot topic.

A number of other bouts for UFC 324, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV on January 24, 2026, were announced by White on Thursday. Those include Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis, Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong, Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva, Alexa Grasso vs. Rose Namajunas, Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, and Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev.

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While no date has been set, Harrison vs. Nunes is next for the UFC women’s bantamweight division. The pair faced off in the cage following Harrison’s win over Julianna Pena to capture the 135lb title at UFC 316 last month. “The Lioness,” considered by most to be the women’s MMA GOAT, is coming out of retirement for the fight.

That means time will be needed for fight camp, and as for training partners, it appears Pacheco has volunteered. The two are both natives of Brazil, though Nunes lives and trains in Florida. Pacheco went 1-2 in her career series with Harrison, winning their third and final fight under the PFL banner in a shock upset. All three of the pair’s fights went the distance.

“That’s true, we’ve been talking for [a while], and she [Pacheco] already made herself available to help me,” Nunes said in an interview with journalist Diego Ribas at the 2025 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony (h/t Sherdog). “She already faced Kayla three times, so obviously she will help a lot if she really comes to Florida.”

Nunes also opened up in that same interview about her motivation for returning to the sport, where she held gold at both bantamweight and featherweight in the UFC.

“I love this sport, I was born for it. I’m an athlete, I’m a fighter. I decided because I really still have a lot. And when I was at home at one point, I felt like fighting again, you know?” explained Nunes. “Not for nothing, not to face the gym, not to face coaches, not because I need the money, it’s none of that. For the will to fight. I’m a fighter, you know? I like to fight, I like to challenge myself all the time. And that’s why. I love the UFC, I love being here, I love fighting. I don’t have any injuries, I don’t have anything.”

Nunes confirmed that she’s signed a multi-fight contact, not just a one off to face Harrison, but added “let’s see how it goes.”

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After a deluge of trash talk, Pena had little to no answer for Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo and two-time PFL women’s lightweight champ, in Newark on Saturday. Harrison looked bigger, stronger, was able to get Pena down, and eventually picked up the sub, absorbing little damage in the process.

Thus ended Julianna Pena’s second title reign in the UFC, with no successful title defenses in either. Now, she’s looking ahead, hoping to land a fight against the winner of Harrison versus Amanda Nunes.

“Thank you to the fans who lifted me with your love and encouragement during this fight camp,” Pena wrote on social media in response to the loss. “I love you all and feel so grateful for all the support and energy you guys give me—It truly means the world! I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get the job done. I’m super disappointed but hats off to Kayla on her win!”

“Time to get healed up and get ready for her next fight because I’m calling dibs on the winner!” she finished.

Harrison vs. Nunes has been talked about for years, but after “The Lioness” lost her title to Pena in December of 2021, talk of the fight hit the backburner. Nunes would avenge the loss, claiming her belt back in an immediate rematch, but retired following UFC 289 in Vancouver in 2023, after defeating Irene Aldana. At the time, Harrison was still under contract to the PFL.

MMA retirements rarely seem to stick, however. With Harrison arriving in the UFC last year and working her way to the title, talk has swirled of a Nunes comeback. That was confirmed on Saturday when Nunes entered the cage following Harrison’s victory, confirming that she would indeed make her return to fighting before the pair faced off.

As for Pena, she’s 1-1 against Nunes and 0-1 against Harrison. Whether the UFC is interested in booking her against either fighter while coming off a loss remains to be seen.

The post Julianna Pena Issues Statement Following UFC 316 Loss, Calls “Dibs” On Harrison vs. Nunes Winner appeared first on Cageside Press.

The UFC announced during the UFC 314 broadcast that former two-division champion Amanda Nunes will be going into the Hall of Fame in the modern wing this June.

“Leoa” is widely regarded as one of, if not the undisputed, best female mixed martial artist ever to compete professionally after a run that saw her best pioneers and all-time greats like Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate throughout her illustrious career. Nunes ended her career with a 23-5 record last year after defending her bantamweight title in June of 2023.

Between 2015 and 2021, Nunes put together a legendary twelve fight win-streak that saw her win the bantamweight title against Miesha Tate and defend it against the likes of UFC legend Ronda Rousey, current flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (whom she defeated once prior before as well), and former champions Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie, and Raquel Pennington.  The seminal moment of her career came in December of 2018 when she ended the legendary win-streak of featherweight legend Cris Cyborg with a first round knockout to become the UFC’s first ever female simultaneous two-division champion.  Nunes went on to defend the featherweight title two more times as well during her run.

While Nunes has stayed out of the public eye, there has been talk of a potential return should her former teammate and two-time Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison win the bantamweight title this June at UFC 316.

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Below are some of the best costumes in MMA from Halloween 2023 (or, you could do your own costume as an MMA notable)!

Carla Esparza

Wonder Woman and a little Hulk? We’ll forgive the Marvel-DC crossover in this case!

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻! Our little Hulk was sleepy, he’s been on night duty so he’s kinda tired 😂😴 #wonderwoman #hulk #clarkkent #superman #marvel pic.twitter.com/Qix3RYMlPF

— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) November 1, 2023

Valerie Loureda

She’s now known as Lola Vice in WWE, but Valerie Loureda had a successful run in Bellator MMA prior to switched to scripted violence. She’s always been known to go all-out for Halloween, but this year she went with an angelic theme.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzCfKRhOSg-/?hl=en&img_index=1

Megan Anderson

Former Invicta champ and UFC title challenger Megan Anderson dipped into the anime world for her costume this year.

Halloween 2023 👻🎃 pic.twitter.com/vG340ojx7T

— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) October 31, 2023

Pearl Gonzalez

Former UFC star and BKFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez with a little Scream-inspired cheekiness. Ghostface never looked so good.

https://twitter.com/PearlGonzalez/status/1719357438858572033

Neil Magny

Looks like the Magny family went with a Mario theme this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEFRAhuFUq

Ailin Perez

Ailin Perez pretty much just painted on her costume. In her own words, “I found a really nice pumpkin at the pumpkin patch this year.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEKemOLINB

Gillian Robertson

That’s a savagely good Toy Story-inspired ensemble.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEGe8QPeZ0

Tyson Pedro

Sticking with movie-inspired costumes, he’s Tyson Pedro.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzDDK4er4hp

Jon Anik

Neil Magny wasn’t the only one going with a Mario theme this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEWu3YOmRM

Amanda and Nina Nunes

My, what big eyes you have!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEZZynrEjv

Kay Hansen

Kay couldn’t settle on just one costume and broke out three – Wonder Woman, a sexy cop, and a Chucky-inspired outfit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzEbZooJs51

Arianny Celeste

Hello nurse!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzC7jLarqIG

Tracy Cortez

Tracy says she’s ghosting everyone for Halloween this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy-aNQAOs_3

Max Holloway

This is just cool.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy_rrBCymSG

Demetrious Johnson

Not sure which is scarier, this Heath Ledger-inspired joker, or Mighty Mouse with hair!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzEoZ0IPHba

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland just won Halloween.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE4fklJ4JW

Kayla Harrison

Quite the cast of characters here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE6zbRAhRR

Stephen Thompson

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetle— nope not doing that! He’s do some real damage in the MMA world.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE89dePiox

Fabian Edwards

Well that’s just plain creepy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEwy0PrswM

The post Spooky Season 2023: MMA Does Halloween appeared first on Cageside Press.

Is Conor McGregor fighting or not? Between the USADA pool mystery, punching mascots in Miami, SA allegations and his TUF coaching appearance, nobody seems to have a solid answer on if we’ll see “The Notorious” against Michael Chandler in 2023.

The women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes called it a career at UFC 289 in Vancouver after she defeated Irene Aldana in a clinic in the main event. What lies ahead for Nunes, could she possibly ever make a comeback, and what is her legacy within the sport at this point?

Ilia Topuria secured a valuable victory against Josh Emmett at UFC Jacksonville on Saturday which puts him on the short list of title challengers for the featherweight title. How many more wins does he need to challenge for the belt and who should it be?

And of course all of the MMA headlines out, and comments and questions during the show! Join Fred Kirby and Eddie Law LIVE tonight 5:30pmPT/8:30pmET!

Show Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skCFRZLyv90

Twitter: @CagesidePress

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/cagesidepress

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cagesidepress

Keyboard Warriors goes LIVE weekly on Friday or Sunday! Make sure to subscribe to Cageside Press on YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Facebook and all social medias! Hit the notification to get the alert when the show goes live!

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Let’s take a look at what could be next for the winners of the main card.

Amanda Nunes

The greatest ever female mixed martial artist, Amanda Nunes, called it a day on her career after securing a win against Irene Aldana.

“The Lioness” was originally set to put an end to her rivalry with Julianna Pena, but the former champion pulled out weeks prior due to an injury. Despite having pulled out of the bout, Pena was present for fight week and throughout the days, continued to make it known what she thought of the current champ. None of that mattered though, as it was Irene Aldana who was looking to dethrone the Queen.

Although the fight went to the judges’ scorecards, Amanda Nunes didn’t even have to get out of first gear as the Mexican challenger made it extremely easy for her. After the bout, Nunes called for the cut-man to bring in his scissors for her to begin taking off her gloves. From that point, it became clear what was about to happen

The Brazilian emotionally explained how she wanted to retire whilst still being at the top of her game, something hardly any fighters are able to do. With that, she lay down her bantamweight title next to her featherweight title with her gloves embedded in the middle, and contentedly walked out of the Octagon with her family for the last time.

Nunes’ Next Fight: Amanda Nunes announced her retirement

Charles Oliveira

Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira came into fight week with what felt like the entirety of Canada behind him. With his last fight being his title loss to Islam Makhachev, the Brazilian knew he had to win this fight to hopefully secure a second meeting with the Dagestani.

Ahead of him though stood Beneil Dariush, who was riding an 8-fight-win-streak into this fight, knowing that a win over the former champion would guarantee him a title fight in his next one. From the opening bell, it was clear that Oliveira wanted to show Dariush why he was the former lightweight champion.

“Do Bronx” began fast and landed a few clean strikes on Dariush, which led to Dariush clinching up and subsequently allowing the fight to go to the ground. Whilst in top position, Dariush landed a few good strikes whilst nullifying the grappling threat of the Brazilian.

It didn’t last long though because as soon as the fight got back to the feet, Oliveira landed a big head-kick followed by a right hook, sinking Dariush to the ground where he was subsequently finished.

The only way to describe the crowd’s reaction would be electric. Yet again, Oliveira exemplified how far he has come in his career, continuously improving and becoming even bigger of a star fight by fight.

At the moment, it is unclear which direction the UFC will go in, in terms of Charles’ next fight. With him gaining such star-power, I imagine they will want to capitalise on it and give him a rematch with the dominant Makhachev. For me though, that fight finishes very similarly to their first fight, but with there being no other clear contender right now, it probably makes the most sense.

Oliveira’s Next Fight: Islam Makhachev 

Mike Malott

“Proper” Mike Malott made it back-to-back submission victories with yet another impressive performance, this time defeating Adam Fugitt at UFC 289. During Malott’s walkout, there was an incident in which the barrier gave way, resulting in several rowdy fans falling down to the walkout space. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries to the fans and Malott came away unscathed.

With the win, Canadians finished the night undefeated 5-0, making the return an extremely successful one. It is likely that Malott’s next fight will be against a decent step-up in competition.

Someone who would be a step-up, but a manageable one, is Abubakar Nurmagomedov. Not only that but their timelines coincide as Nurmagomedov fought a week prior. Depending on whether Malott is keen on the travel, this fight could take place on the Abu Dhabi-based UFC 294 card.

Malott’s Next Fight: Abubakar Nurmagomedov 

Dan Ige

Dan “50k” Ige put on another emphatic boxing performance, epitomising perfect fundamentals in that area, de-railing Nate “The Train” in the process.

Ige has finally registered back-to-back wins again with the step down in opponent proving beneficial for him in the long-run. With that being said, it may be the time to once again have him fight a fellow ranked competitor.

Despite Landwehr being extremely durable, there were a few moments in the fight where Ige came close to finishing him. Since his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, he has made 14 appearances staying very active in the 145lb division. Ige is still yet to be finished in professional MMA.

Still being at a good age of just 31, Ige could still yet make a run towards the title. A fight that could be beneficial for both parties is a fight with Sodiq Yusuff.

Ige’s Next Fight: Sodiq Yusuff 

Marc-Andre Barriault

Opening up the main card for the Canadian’s was “Powerbar” Marc-Andre Barriault. His last victory came against Julian Marquez back in March, where he finished him in round two.

On the other side was Eryk Anders who was looking to try and string together consecutive victories for only the third time in his 16 fight UFC career.

Barriault’s UFC tenure began with three losses in a row, with the Canadian likely coming very close to being cut. From then on though, he was able to pick up several impressive victories over the likes of Azaitar, Lungiambula and Jordan Wright, showing he deserved a spot on the growing roster.

The 33-year-old has likely earned himself a fight with a decent name for his next outing. A fight with Michal Oleksiejczuk could be a fun one.

Barriault’s Next Fight: Michal Oleksiejczuk

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