Ciryl Gane keeps UFC heavyweight belt over Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in New York

Gane outlasts Hokit in a five-round brawl

On Saturday, 14 November, Ciryl Gane defended the UFC heavyweight championship against Josh Hokit at Madison Square Garden in New York. The 36-year-old Frenchman won by unanimous decision, and The Independent reported three scorecards of 48-47. Hokit, 29, pressed forward for all 25 minutes, and The New York Times counted 30 takedown attempts from him, while Gane stopped 27 of them. The Times also said Gane took the fourth and fifth rounds on all three scorecards. The BBC put the bout at 383 significant strikes, a record for a UFC heavyweight fight.

The main event also produced a dispute over an eye poke. In the first round Hokit complained to referee Marc Goddard, who dismissed the protest, but a replay confirmed that Gane had poked him in the eye. Gane's numerous eye pokes on Tom Aspinall forced a no-contest 13 months earlier, and Aspinall is still sidelined with an eye injury. Gane had been interim champion until Aspinall gave up the regular title in September, when Gane received the undisputed belt. Explaining his late push, Gane kept it simple:

“When I keep going, I keep going”

Harrison submits Nunes in the co-main event

In the co-main event, Kayla Harrison submitted Amanda Nunes in the fourth round with a rear-naked choke at Madison Square Garden, retaining her bantamweight title. Nunes, 38, was returning after retiring in 2023, and The New York Times called her the most decorated women's mixed martial artist of all time. She started well with straight rights, but she spent the first two rounds on her back against Harrison, who landed short punches and elbows. Harrison, 36, took Nunes to the canvas in round four before applying the choke. The Guardian gave the records as 20-1 for Harrison and 23-6 for Nunes. The bout was Harrison's first since June 2025, a fight delayed by spinal fusion surgery in January. The two were friends and former teammates at American Top Team, which Nunes left in 2022. Afterwards Harrison said she was still processing the result:

“I think I'm still in shock”

Build-up and Hokit's persona

Hokit built his profile on trash talk in the run-up to the card. N-tv reported that he called himself the favourite fighter of US President Donald Trump, and in the cage he raised his middle finger at Gane and at ring announcer Bruce Buffer. At the White House he called Michelle Obama a 'man' after stopping Derrick Lewis, a moment that drew criticism according to The Independent. Gane, the first UFC champion born in France according to the Times, turned down each war of words that Hokit started, yet fans chanted against him during the early preliminary fights. Trump was not at the Garden on Saturday night, The Guardian reported, although he had attended UFC events there before. Dana White had his usual cageside seat.