Preview: UFC 324 Prelims

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first card of 2026—and of the Paramount era—comes with an impressive amount of depth on the UFC 324 prelims this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The clear highlight takes the featured slot, as Umar Nurmagomedov could earn another bantamweight title shot with a win against Deiveson Figueiredo in a fight that should combine extremely high stakes with some entertaining action. Beyond that, there are some engaging crossroads fights, led by light heavyweight Nikita Krylov and flyweight Alex Perez looking to hold serve against Modestas Bukauskas and Charles Johnson. There are also some prospects worth watching. Middleweight Ateba Abega Gautier might have the highest upside of any young talent in the UFC and gets another showcase opportunity in his latest assignment, and Josh Hokit even clears the bar as an actual heavyweight talent thanks to his athleticism and wrestling skill.

Now to the preview for the UFC 324 prelims:

Bantamweights

Umar Nurmagomedov (19-1, 7-1 UFC) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (25-5-1, 14-5-1 UFC)

BETTING ODDS: Nurmagomedov (-1450), Figueiredo (+850)

Nurmagomedov would have been in a strong position either way, but Petr Yan’s upset win for the bantamweight title does make the Russian a fresher challenger—assuming he holds serve here. Nurmagomedov came to the UFC in 2021 and was immediately tabbed as a potential future champion, though he mostly spun his wheels for the better part of three years, albeit through no fault of his own. Nurmagomedov looked every bit the complete fighter as advertised, showing the impressive wrestling and grappling befitting his last name, along with some sharp striking. However, the UFC was content to let him handle mid-tier opposition rather than move him up the ladder, until it suddenly put him in a main event opposite Cory Sandhagen in 2024. Sandhagen was himself on the verge of a title shot, so there was the clear worry that this would be too big of a leap for Nurmagomedov to take, but he instead put in the best performance of his career. He showed off layers of his striking that he did not need in his previous bouts, putting in a performance that suggested he could unseat Merab Dvalishvili when the two squared off for the title in January 2025. Nurmagomedov did in fact put forth an excellent effort, as he scrambled with and neutralized Dvalishvili—but only for about half of the fight. Like everyone else up to that point, Nurmagomedov eventually wore down against the inhuman pace that Dvalishvili generally sets. Still, the expectation was that if Nurmagomedov got a rematch, he would still have a better shot than anyone at unseating Dvalishvili, especially after another impressive performance in October, when he outscrambled and stayed ahead of Mario Bautista in another outstanding fight from both men. Nurmagomedov clearly remains on the shortlist of potential title contenders at 135 pounds, so it’s just a matter of continuing to win and hoping things break right if he gets past Figueiredo.

A two-time former flyweight champion, Figueiredo was one of the men who helped save that division, in part because he brought a level of sudden violence that few men his size can provide. Up to that point, a lot of top flyweights relied on speed, activity and technique—a throughline that Figueiredo mostly ran against. An explosive powerhouse of an athlete, Figueiredo could often get outworked as he picked his spots but would pay his opponents back tenfold with massive moments of offense, memorably backhanding his opponent into unconsciousness in his last fight prior to joining the UFC. His breakout campaign was 2020, as he obliterated Joseph Benavidez (twice) and Alex Perez before ending the year with a draw against Brandon Moreno, kicking off a four-fight series that resulted in some excellent back-and-forth bouts and raised the profile of both men. That turned out to be Figueiredo’s last gasp at 125 pounds, as he decided to spare himself the rough weight cut and move up to bantamweight, where he has settled in just outside of the top tier of contenders. Wins over Rob Font and Marlon Vera established that Figueiredo can hold his own in the division in terms of power, but he has also clearly aged a bit in his late 30s, lowering his output even more and tending to rely more on his wrestling. That has worked decently enough as a safety valve most of the time, even if Figueiredo’s did not enjoy 2025 all that much. A loss to Sandhagen saw him strangely rely on a lot of low-percentage submissions, while a rebound win over Montel Jackson was a fairly unwatchable slog that saw him slowly outwork a reticent opponent. If there’s a path to victory here for Figueiredo, it’s that Nurmagomedov does get lax at times with his defense, getting clipped unexpectedly or having to work his way out of some deep submissions. That seems to be the only clear route for an upset, as Nurmagomedov should be able to outwork Figueiredo on the feet, and the Brazilian’s wrestling isn't much of a fallback against one of the best wrestlers he has ever faced. The pick is Nurmagomedov via decision.

Continue Reading »
Nurmagomedov vs. Figueiredo
Gautier vs. Pulyaev
Bukauskas vs. Krylov
Johnson vs. Perez
Hernandez vs. Johnson
Hokit vs. Freeman
Smotherman vs. Turcios
Miller vs. Fugitt