Overview
- UFC 324 is set for Jan. 24, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena, the promotion’s first numbered event of the Paramount era.
- Cortes-Acosta enters ranked No. 5 after a 4-1 run in 2025, including back-to-back November knockouts and an 82-second KO of Shamil Gaziev on three days’ notice in Qatar.
- Lewis, ranked No. 8, returns following a 35-second knockout win in July that gave him two straight stoppage victories.
- Cortes-Acosta says he signed a new UFC contract the night before the Qatar bout, framing his recent surge as career-changing.
- Cortes-Acosta believes a win could secure a title shot, and figures like Michael Bisping and Renato Moicano have voiced similar opinions as the heavyweight title picture remains unsettled.