The first UFC event of the year could’ve been even bigger if a huge signing had been secured.
UFC 324 wasn’t a perfect event to kick off the promotion’s Paramount+ era at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last month.
There were some complaints about the viewing experience and the card took a major hit when it lost what many saw as the best matchup, the women’s bantamweight title fight.
That being said, it still pulled in record-breaking numbers for the first numbered UFC event that US fans didn’t have to pay a PPV premium for.
Considering that several plans didn’t come together, including a big new addition to the roster, the promotion will likely be very happy with these results.
LATEST NEWS: Fans rule out Jon Jones return after seeing him compete in charity match days after injury admission
Hunter Campbell reveals that Rico Verhoeven picked boxing over signing with the UFC
At UFC 324, Waldo Cortes-Acosta stopped Derrick Lewis to earn his third consecutive win and finish since the start of last November.
This matchup could’ve been very different if the promotion was able to secure a fight that recently had some more details released.
Lewis said that he was initially planned to face Rico Verhoeven at this event when speaking before his return on January 24 on his The Beast and The Cowboy podcast.
In November, Verhoeven vacated his GLORY heavyweight title after not renewing his contract with the promotion, bringing his legendary 12-year title reign to an end.
It was reported at the time that the UFC were one of the promotions who were in talks with the ‘King of Kickboxing’ about potentially being his new home.
During testimony at Thursday’s UFC antitrust lawsuit hearing, the promotion’s chief business officer, Hunter Campbell, confirmed that they tried to sign Verhoeven but he chose to pursue boxing instead.
LATEST NEWS: Dana White admits he doesn’t ‘really’ do UFC matchmaking since a major change while testifying in lawsuit
Rico Verhoeven looks to have a far bigger matchup on the horizon
Selfishly as MMA fans, it would’ve been really interesting to see how far an elite striker like Rico Verhoeven could go in a heavily criticized heavyweight division.
Watching what Waldo Cortes-Acosta did to Derrick Lewis on January 24 makes it hard to imagine the ‘King of Kickboxing’ not being able to produce a similarly one-sided performance.
However, when you look at the other options…
2026-02-06 11:00:00
