Former Justin Gaethje opponent tells Paddy Pimblett the ‘weakness’ he can target at UFC 324

Eddie Alvarez sees an obvious hole for Paddy Pimblett to exploit.

The lightweight contender is preparing for his first UFC title shot, having been awarded a controversial opportunity to kick off the promotion’s calendar for 2026.

Among a host of other big-name fights, Dana White announced Justin Gaethje vs Pimblett for the UFC 324 main event on January 24. The pair will challenge for an interim title at 155 pounds after Ilia Topuria revealed plans for a hiatus.

Many have pushed back on the fight, branding ‘The Baddy’ undeserving of a title shot. But Pimblett’s focus will be on the task ahead of him, and he recently had his path to victory outlined to him by a man with experience beating Gaethje.

Where does Paddy Pimblett rank among Justin Gaethje’s toughest UFC opponents?

Justin Gaethje’s UFC opponents:

Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say Comment Like or Comment

Eddie Alvarez calls Justin Gaethje’s jiu-jitsu a weak point Paddy Pimblett can take advantage of

While Pimblett will be competing with gold on the line for the first time on MMA’s biggest stage, Gaethje has plenty of experience in that regard.

In addition to being a former interim champ, ‘The Highlight’ has challenged for undisputed status on two occasions. He was unsuccessful, and both results came in a similar fashion. Gaethje was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 before being choked out even quicker against Charles Oliveira a couple of years later.

Speaking to reporter Mike Bohn, Eddie Alvarez highlighted his former opponent’s jiu-jitsu as the area in which Pimblett can find significant success at UFC 324.

“Paddy makes a lot of mistakes, right? He’s susceptible to getting knocked out, but he’s great, great, great in the scrambles,” Alvarez explained on The Bohnfire.

“If Justin had a weakness, like if I was to say, ‘Hey, Justin, we want to attack him here,’ it would be his jiu-jitsu.

“He has great wrestling, he has great standups, and he’s starting to get more defensively-minded,” he added.

“If he had a weakness, it would be jiu-jitsu, and that is where Paddy is strong. … He plays into Justin’s weaknesses really well if he kind of creates those scrambles and that chaos.”