Justin ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje became the interim lightweight champion for the second time in his storied career by dominating Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett in the UFC 324 headliner Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Gaethje won a unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) over Pimblett as a +200 underdog, hooking up his backers who wagered on the prop for him to win by decision with a +550 payout at both FanDuel and BetMGM.

Bets on the prop for the fight to go to a decision provided a +260 return, while wagers on ‘over’ 3.5 rounds netted a +138 payout at BetRivers.

According to MMADecisions, 13 media members scored the fight 48-47 for Gaethje. Three had it 48-46, five scored it 49-46, three went with 49-45 and one scored it 48-44. MajorWager had it 49-46 for Gaethje, with Pimblett winning only Round 3.

The 37-year-old Gaethje is nearing the end of his career, and he might’ve retired had he come up short vs. Pimblett. But man, he’s still got it.

All of Gaethje’s redeeming qualities as a fighter – his footwork, his takedown defense, his power, his aggressiveness and pure violence – were on full display again vs. Pimblett. He dropped Pimblett early in the opening frame with an uppercut that hurt him badly, causing ‘The Baddy’ to turtle up when Gaethje followed him to the ground.

After landing a few shots, Gaethje backed off to allow Pimblett to stand. He hurt Pimblett again later in the round with a strike to the solar plexus and a big right hand.

In Round 2, Pimblett started having more success with leg kicks. Gaethje, who has perhaps the most powerful leg kicks in the division outside of Edson Barboza, notably wasn’t using his. In fact, Gaethje revealed after the fight that his coaches advised him not to kick until the third round in hopes of avoiding Pimblett catching a kick to set up a takedown.

Gaethje continued to stalk Pimblett in Round 2, using his jab more and continuing to find a home on Pimblett’s face with his power shots. He landed another uppercut before dragging Pimblett down to the canvas with a front headlock. On the ground, he connected with several shots before standing back up.

Gaethje was up 20-18 going to the third round. This was the best stanza for Pimblett by far. He turned up his intensity and fought with urgency to make it 29-28 in favor of Gaethje heading into the championship rounds.

Gaethje regained momentum quickly in the fourth, peppering Pimblett with powerful shots before using the front headlock again. This round was a brawl. Gaethje was getting the best of the exchanges, but Pimblett kept coming and throwing power shots even though his face was bloodied and battered.

Knowing he was down 39-37 going into the final frame, Pimblett came out fighting like he knew he had to get a finish. It was a wild finish to a wild scrap, with both men throwing caution to the wind and firing haymakers galore.

Pimblett was still taking the worst of the exchanges, but his grit and chin were impressive. He actually caught Gaethje with a big right with about 10 seconds left, but the veteran returned fire as they battled to the final bell.

“The f***er’s right — Scousers do not get knocked out,” Gaethje told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. “That Scouser does not get knocked out. My God, what a f***ing gangster. I told him right now, I said I was just where you’re at not too long ago. This is a crazy sport and a f***ing amazing life, and I’m so thankful to share it with you guys.”

Pimblett’s face was a mess, but he remained upbeat in defeat.

“I wanted to be walking away with that belt, and I know how tough I am anyway, I don’t need to prove it to anyone,” Pimblett told Rogan. “I wanted to leave with that belt, but there’s no other man I’d rather lose to than ‘The Highlight.’ Justin Gaethje is someone I’ve loved watching, I grew up watching the UFC, and it shows why he’s a legend right there.”

Gaethje and Pimblett both took home an extra $100,000 apiece for Fight of the Night honors, as the reward for fight-night bonuses has been doubled with the new Paramount deal.

In the co-main event, former bantamweight champion and third-ranked Sean O’Malley took on fifth-ranked Song Yadong. The opening round was close, but MajorWager gave it to O’Malley by a hair for landing the better strikes.

With that said, Song caught a leg kick from O’Malley and turned it into a takedown late in the stanza. Therefore, you could understand if a judge thought the takedown and finishing the round in top position swayed the frame for Yadong.

Whatever the case, the second round was Yadong’s. He got a body lock on O’Malley and kept control while leaning on him against the fence. Yadong eventually scored a body lock trip and took top position on the ground in O’Malley’s guard.

When the fighters went back to standing in the final minute, Yadong seemed to get the best of a few striking exchanges.

In Round 3, O’Malley came out strong, bloodying Yadong’s nose with multiple lefts that landed nicely. The pace slowed and the fans became restless, but O’Malley was more accurate with his strikes and caught the judges’ eyes with a high knee that hurt Yadong.

The judges scored it 29-28 for O’Malley, who closed as a -225 favorite. Bettors taking O’Malley to win by decision cashed +120 tickets. Wagers on ‘over’ 2.5 rounds won at an expensive -240 price.

Per MMADecisions, 12 media members scored the bout 29-28 for O’Malley, while nine media members had it 29-28 for Yadong.

“Petr Yan has something that I want,” O’Malley told Rogan in his post-fight interview. “All respect to Merab, if he gets the next shot, well-deserved, but Petr Yan, you want that rematch, I want that belt. Let’s make it happen. Go out there and take care of Merab if that’s what’s next. If not, let’s run it, baby!”

In a heavyweight battle on the main card, fifth-ranked Waldo Cortes-Acosta scored a second-round knockout win over eighth-ranked Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis as a -335 ‘chalk.’ Prop bets for Cortes-Acosta to win in Round 2 cashed generous +470 tickets at FanDuel, while wagers on Cortes-Acosta to win by KO hit at a -105 price.

In a women’s flyweight matchup, second-ranked Natalia Silva pulled out a controversial unanimous-decision win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over sixth-ranked ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas as a favorite in the -300 to -350 range.

Gamblers backing Namajunas, the former two-time women’s strawweight queen, as a +260 underdog were left furious. According to MMADecisions, 13 media members gave the nod to Namajunas by a 29-28 score, and only five scored it 29-28 for Silva.

But it was a snoozer of a fight. Both women were hesitant to engage, but Namajunas appeared to be more active in the first two rounds. Silva won the third, and that was apparently enough for the judges.

Dana White confirmed afterward that Silva, who is now on a 14-fight winning streak and is 8-0 in the UFC, will get the next crack at Valentina Shevchenko’s 125-pound belt.

In the opener of the main card, 10th-ranked featherweight Jean Silva got back in the win column with a UD win (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) over sixth-ranked Arnold Allen as a -225 ‘chalk.’ Props on Silva to win by decision had a +240 return at FanDuel, and most books had the prop for the fight to go the distance at even money (+100).

The lightweight scrap between Michael Johnson and Alexander Hernandez was cancelled Saturday afternoon after lots of books reported irregular betting patterns, took props off the board and lowered the betting limits.

Hernandez opened as a -215 favorite in late December, and he was -171 on Tuesday afternoon. The favorite was down to -150 on Thursday night before the odds dipped to -120 on Friday morning. By Friday night, the fight was a pick ’em (-110 either way) at most spots.

White confirmed at his post-fight presser that the bout was indeed called off due to heavy betting patterns.