T-Mobile Arena, the UFCs in reality “home” location, this weekend serves as the backdrop for the lid lifter of the 43-event schedule in 2026. After seven years, the UFC now also has a new media house in UFC 324.
Saturday event will be the first in a seven-year rights deal with Paramount Plus. Effective with this card, UFC events will now start at an earlier time. The early prelims of UFC 324 begin at 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT on the streaming platform, followed by the late prelims at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT. The main card action concludes the evening at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.
All told, if there are no changes to the itinerary between now and next weekend, the final version of Saturday night’s card will feature a 13-fight slate from the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world.
UFC 324 Featured Prelim: #2 Contender Umar Nurmagomedov vs. No. 6 contender Deiveson Figuereido
At the top of the schedule for Saturday night’s preliminaries is a bout in the bantamweight division. No. 2 contender Umar Nurmagomedov (19-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on No. 6 contender Deiveson Figueiredo (25-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC). All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds of five minutes per round.
Nurmagomedov, the former UFC bantamweight champion, enters Saturday night’s prelim after going 4-1 in his last five fights dating back to January 2023. In October, he returned to the win column with a unanimous decision win over Mario Bautista (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) at UFC 321 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2025 was a year of inactivity for the second-ranked bantamweight, having fought twice in about eight months in the old year. Nurmagomedov is hopeful that 2026 will bring more action, starting with UFC 324 on Saturday night.
On the other side, Deiveson Figuereido enters this weekend’s UFC 324 undercard with a 3-2 record in his last five trips to the Octagon. On October 11, he scored a split decision after three rounds of action against Montel Jackson (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in Rio de Janeiro.
The preliminary round of UFC 324 is a crucial 15 minutes or less of action for both fighters on Saturday night. A win for Figueiredo improves his chances for his next fight, a title fight.
UFC 324 co-featured preliminary round; Ateba Gautier vs. Andrei Pulayev
The undercard bout of UFC 324 this coming weekend is a battle in the middleweight division. Ateba Gautier (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) attempts to remain undefeated in the promotion when he fights Andrey Pulayev (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
Gautier enters his fourth UFC appearance on Saturday with a mark of 5-0 in his last five fights. An alumnus of the late Titan FC, he is currently on an eight-fight winning streak.
Since joining the UFC’s active roster Contender series by Dana White in 2024, he is known for completing his assignments in the legendary Octagon in a fast manner. Of a possible 45 minutes of Octagon time, Ateba Gautier needed just six minutes and 23 seconds to win his three matches.
On October 4, he stopped Tre’Ston Vines (10-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with an elbow shot followed by ground strikes in one minute, 41 seconds at UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. Don’t walk out of the room when Ateba Gautier steps into the cage at UFC 324 on Saturday, or you might miss the entire fight.
Meanwhile, Andrey Pulyaev will make the walk to the Octagon on the strength of a 4-1 record over his last five fights. Most recently, he earned his first promotional victory with a second-round knockout against Nick Klein (6-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) last August at the newly renamed Meta Apex.
Can Pulyaev hand Gautier his first UFC loss? Tune in and find out.
UFC 324: No. 13 contender Nikita Krylov vs. lowly Bukauskas
Also on the UFC 324 prelims this weekend is a light heavyweight bout that pairs No. 13 prospect Nikita Krylov (30-11 MMA, 11-9 UFC) with Modestas Bukauskas (19-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC). Krylov will land in Nevada with a mark of 3-2 over his last five appearances.
He’s been a streaky fighter lately, dropping two bouts in a row after raising his hand in victory three straight times. Six months ago, he was defeated by first-round knockout by Bogdan Guskov (18-3-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Another loss to Krylov could mean he loses his spot in the top 15 at 205 pounds. However, only time will tell whether this will be the case.
In the other corner, Modestas Bukauskas fights this weekend with a 4-1 record in his last five meetings. He has currently won four matches in a row.
On the first Saturday in September, he scored a first-round knockout with a top mount elbow to finish. Paul Craig (17-10-1, 1 NC MMA, 9-10-1, 1 NC UFC.) Craig retired from MMA after the match.
If Bukauskas can deliver another electrifying performance at UFC 324, he might have a number next to his name when the new work week begins Monday morning.
Rest of the preliminaries:
The UFC 324 undercard is completed by these fights:
- a flyweight bout against No. 11 contender Alex Perez (25-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC) with No. 13 contender Charles Johnson (18-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC)
- a lightweight bout between Michael Johnson (24-19 MMA, 16-15 UFC) and Alexander Hernandez (18-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC,)
- a heavyweight showdown pairing of Josh Hokit (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Denzel Freeman (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
- a bantamweight bout pitting Ricky Turcios (12-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) against Cameron Smotherman (12-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
- and a welterweight affair vs. Ty Miller (6-0 MMA, UFC debut) with Adam Fugitt (10-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC.)
Which prelim(s) are you looking forward to at UFC 324? Let us know in the comments.
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