Justin Gaethje is the UFC’s new interim lightweight champion after he bested Paddy Pimblett in a hard-hitting five-round thriller tonight at UFC 324.

Round One

The main event interim lightweight title fight is underway in las Vegas!

Inside leg kick for Pimblett. Pimblett fires off a right hand. Now a body kick. Down to a calf kick now. He lands another calf kick. Now a couple of punches, but Gaethje then blasts him with a right hand.

Calf kick for Pimblett. Knee seems to connect upstairs for Pimblett. Gaethje with a big punch though.

Gaethje pressing forward and unleashes a right hand and then uppercut that sends Pimblett down to the canvas! He’s defending himself on the mat though and Gaethje only opts for body shots, then lets him back up.

Pimblett firing off a punch to let Gaethje know he’s still in the fight. Body kick for Pimblett.

Leg kick from Pimblett, but falls off-balance to the mat. He gets back up.

Big hook from Gaethje misses. Geathje clinches up and has the body lock for a moment. Back to striking range they go. Missed punches from Pimblett and Gaethje returns fire.

Pimblett looking for the uppercut. Gaethje steps in with his hand outstretched and it leads to Pimblett being poked in the eye, and that results in a time-out.

Thankfully after a minute Pimblett is ok to continue.

Pimblett immediately back on offense with a punch. Solid low kicks for Pimblett. He lands a right hand but Gaethje marches through it looking to land his own shots. Pimblett clips him. They clinch then separate.

Both fighters miss with low kicks in the final seconds of the round.

Round Two

Couple of light punches to the head from Pimblett. Solid left hook for Pimblett. Now a low kick. He lands another. Then a jab.

Gaethje snaps down with a front headlock. Pimblett stands while firing off punches.

Gaethje with a punch. Pimblett misses. He lands a body kick, staggers back a bit afterwards, then surges forward with another higher kick, but it’s all a bit untidy.

Good uppercut from Pimblett, but Gaethje eats it and fires off a punch of his own before clinching up.

Back to striking. Pimblett misses on an uppercut. Gaethje clinching and Pimblett lands knees. Now Geathje is landing knees to the thigh.

They separate. Jab for Gaethje. Swing and a miss from Pimblett. Another clinch and a couple of knees to the body from Pimblett before they separate.

Calf kick for PImblett. Gaethje again snaps Pimblett down with a headlock. Pimblett slowly working to his feet, but then eats a knee that puts him down again for a moment. He recovers and stands back up.

Gaethje on the offensive again and lands a punch that puts Pimblett down again. A replay shows Pimblett got caught by an eyepoke just before that though. Gaethje taking his time on top. He stands back up then drops down on Pimblett and goes all in on big strikes late in the round. Pimblett survives until the bell, but his nose is bleeding and he’s got swelling below his left eye.

Round Three

Gaethje pressing forward. He lands a solid low kick. Jab for Pimblett. Pimblett trying to land punches. Gaethje with another low kick.

Solid jab for Pimblett. He lands a low kick. Now back to the jab. Gaethje misses on a couple of punches. Jab for Gaethje and low kick for Pimblett.

Body punch for Pimblett. Swatting punches from Pimblett miss. Pimblett now with blood trickling own from his right eyebrow.

Hard jab for PImblett. Now a body kick. He almost lands a grazing head kick. Gaethje lands a punch as Pimblett is stepping in.

Body kick from Pimblett. Now back to the calf kick. Gaethje with a low kick. Nicely timed chopping right hand from Pimblett.

Left hand connects for Pimblett. He lands again and Gaethje looks a little uncomfortable.

Uppercut from Pimblett. He tries for a jumping knee but it strays to the groin and Gaethje needs a timeout.

Gaethje soon ready to continue. Calf kick for Pimblett. Now a left hand. Front kick to the body for ‘The Baddy’. Gaethje with a body kick and a jab.

Leg kicks from Pimblett. Hard low kick from Gaethje. Gaethje loads up on a right hand, but Pimblett eats it. Both fighters still trading as the round ends.

Round Four

Punch to the body from Gaethje. Pimblett with a kick. Pimblett goes to the midsection with a punch now. Glancing left hand from Pimblett.

Body kick for PImblett. Overhand from Gaethje clips Pimblett. More overhands catch Pimblett. Now a left hook, then snaps Pimblett down with the headlock.

Pimblett back up. Jab for Pimblett. And again. Body kick, but Gaethje catches it and knocks him down with a punch. Pimblett straight back up.

Solid jab for Pimblett. Now a calf kick. Good right hand for Gaethje and then clinches up.

Now Gaethje is unleashing punches and might have Pimblett hurt. The Baddy recovers quickly again though.

Gaethje wading forward with more big punches as Pimblett tries to return fire. Gaethje clinching. Gaethje with a knee that seemed to go to the groin and Pimblett winces, but the ref didn’t see it and he eats a punch immediately after.

Pimblett manages to work through it and they go back to striking range.

Gaethje wading in and Pimblett tries to time a spinning back elbow but misses.

A couple of wild punches from Gaethje miss big. Kicks to the body from Pimblett. Now a calf kick and punches to the head. Gaethje somehow manages to manufacture a takedown in the midst of the chaos just when he was looking a bit troubled.

Round Five

Jab for Pimblett. Both land the jab at the same time. Pimblett has Gaethje biting on a takedown attempt and then fires off punches instead. Now Gaethje firing back.

They clinch up, but are soon back to striking range. Jab for Gaethje. He lands another. Kick to the body from Pimblett.

Pimblett tries to get in on a takedown, but isn’t quite able to stick it. He remains clinched up against the cage now though with underhooks. Half the round remaining.

Back to striking range. Gaethje lands a right hand then clinches up. Knees to the thigh from him.

Right hand for Gaethje as Pimblett misses a spinning backfist. Pimblett trying a jumping knee that doesn’t pay off. Another jumping knee from Pimblett lands. Pimblett with a flurry and Gaethje looked dazed for a moment.

They clinch up and then starting firing off punches again. Such a gruelling war this has been throughout!

Final 10 seconds. Pimblett firing off wild punches. Gaethje grimaces for a moment but then gets straight back to business and punches back. Pimblett trying to unleash one last big punch, but slips. We’re going to the scorecards.

Decision

This was a wild back-and-forth fight from start to finish and both men had to show off strong chins, with Pimblett’s face in particular being very much worse for wear a few rounds in. ‘The Baddy’ was knocked down several times, but repeatedly showed excellent powers of recovery and was always a threat. In the end though it was Gaethje who got the better of the scrap to earn a unanimous decision victory and become the new interim lightweight champion (48-47, 49-46 x2).