UFC 324: Now more mature, Paddy Pimblett can make good on lofty expectations he had upon his UFC debut

LAS VEGAS -- A true crossroads fight takes place on Saturday in the main event of UFC 324 when Paddy Pimblett meets Justin Gaethje with the interim UFC lightweight title on the line. It's a fight that represents Pimblett's first opportunity to grab a piece of UFC gold, while it seems almost certain this is Gaethje's final crack at a title.

Gaethje has held the interim title once before, as well as a brief stint with the symbolic BMF championship, but a stint as undisputed champion has eluded the 37-year old. By comparison, Pimblett is just seven fights into his Octagon career and is getting a chance to capture a belt in large part because of lightweight champion Ilia Topuria taking a step back from the sport amid a tumultuous divorce.

The fight represents a chance for Pimblett to make good on the hype that has surrounded him since he made his Octagon debut in 2021.

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For the most part, Pimblett has lived up to that hype, with a 7-0 record in the UFC, including five wins by stoppage, in addition to flashing a big personality that can help draw attention and sell tickets. But it hasn't all been smooth sailing for the Liverpool, England native.

UFC 324 fight card: Paddy Pimblett getting chance to become face of new era among biggest storylines to follow

Brian Campbell

Pimblett likely should have a UFC loss on his record, with only one media scorecard tracked by MMA Decisions giving him the victory in his December 2022 fight with Jared Gordon at UFC 282, compared to 23 scorecards for Gordon. Despite what most observers felt, the three official scorecards all went to Pimblett for a unanimous decision victory.

To give Pimblett some grace for the performance against Gordon, he suffered damage to ligaments in his ankle in the first round of the fight and was forced to undergo several surgeries that kept him out of the Octagon for more than a year.

In addition, Pimblett spent much of his career putting on significant weight between fights and having to make large weight cuts to get down to the lightweight limit. As Pimblett told CBS Sports' Brian Campbell, changes in his life and his growth from a boy to a man have spurred him on to a more mature place in his career.

"I underestimated Jared a bit and obviously got a very bad injury in the first round that a lot of other fighters would have stopped fighting from," Pimblett said. "But I had to switch things up. Obviously, I fought Jared, and then I got married a couple of months later and then my wife was pregnant like two months later, so that changed a lot, becoming a father."

Pimblett's growth has been very much on display in his two most recent fights. At UFC 304, Pimblett ran through King Green, putting the veteran to sleep with an arm triangle choke in the first round. Pimblett followed up that win with a third-round TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 314. Both of those performances earned Pimblett Performance of the Night bonuses and showed that he was ready to be placed firmly in title contention.

"I feel like every time you have somebody who has a bigger than life personality, the fans don't always take them seriously," UFC president and CEO Dana White told CBS Sports on Wednesday. "Paddy is one of those guys. Yet every time he's the underdog, he doesn't just win, he wins impressively."

A win over Gaethje would leave Pimblett waiting to see what's next. Topuria will return at some point, but there has been talk that the lightweight champ could decide to jump to welterweight for a fight with 170-pound champ Islam Makhachev rather than stay at lightweight to unify his title with the interim belt.

That would be disappointing for Pimblett, who has exchanged words with Topuria several times.

"I think [Topuria] is a very good fighter, but I think I'm going to punch his head in," Pimblett said of a potential fight with his rival. "Once I beat Justin, I'll beat Ilia and then I'll beat whoever is next."

Whether the Topuria fight materializes or not -- which, of course, requires Pimblett to get past Gaethje on Saturday -- Pimblett's self-belief shows when he speaks of getting the call to headline the first card of the UFC's Paramount era, with UFC 324 serving as the first event of the landmark seven-year broadcast rights deal between the two companies.

"You know, I show up every single fight and I'm entertaining," Pimblett said. "They probably thought I'm a good choice for the first main event. ... I'm prepared for anything and I always have been. Things like this I've envisioned in my future, and I've spoken into existence and that's what happened."