The first UFC event of 2026 is finally just days away and fighters are giving their fight predictions.
UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett takes place on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by an interim lightweight title bout between former interim champion Justin Gaethje and No. 5 ranked Paddy Pimblett.
It’s a matchup that former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad believes is essentially a striker versus a grappler. Muhammad broke down the fight and gave his prediction on his YouTube channel.
“For Justin, I think you’ve got to come out striking. You’ve got to keep it striking. You’ve got to avoid the takedown, avoid the clinch, avoid the chaos,” Muhammad said.
“I think for Paddy, we’ve seen him throw flying triangles up. We’ve seen him get guillotines that turn into triangles that turn into armbars. We want to stay away from the grappling for Justin,” continued the former champion.
“Not saying it’s a hole in his game, but you can just tell that he doesn’t like it. We’ve seen him get tapped out by [Charles] Oliveira, obviously really good. Khabib [Nurmagomedov], really good. Paddy puts himself on that level with those guys. I think his grappling is really good. I think he’s one of the top grapplers in the division. So, for Justin, use your boxing. Use your footwork. Paddy gets hit a lot.”
As much as he thinks Gaethje needs to keep the fight standing, Muhammad believes Pimblett’s path to victory is getting the action to the ground.
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“For Paddy, I think you’ve got to create chaos. You got to wrestle as much as possible. Yeah, he has college wrestling accolades, but this isn’t college wrestling. This is the UFC. This is fighting. This is punches. This is grappling. This is everything involved,” said Muhammad.
“If I’m Paddy, I’m going to shoot in early and test it early because when we’re both dry, that’s where it comes … We don’t want to get hit by him. Everyone who gets hit by him says how hard he hits. He’s one of the hardest hitters in the division, so let’s not test your chin,” Muhammad continued. “I think your path to victory is clear. It’s on the ground.”
Having spelled out the paths to victory for each fighter, Muhammad gave his prediction for the outcome.
“My pick, I think I’m going to go with Justin,” he said. “I think Paddy just gets hit a lot on the feet … I think I’m going to pick Justin in this one. I don’t know if he knocks him out or finishes him. I do think it’ll kind of be a decision.”
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