Josh Hokit would do 'everything we want from a champion' if he wins at UFC 334, claims Din Thomas

Ciryl Gane will make the first defence of his undisputed heavyweight title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, according to the BBC. The main card is expected to start at 02:00 GMT, with the headline fight likely to take place around 04:30 GMT on Sunday. Gane, 36, was promoted to undisputed champion in September after Britain's Tom Aspinall vacated the belt due to complications recovering from an eye injury. The Frenchman has won 14 of his 17 fights with seven knockouts. He previously lost title fights against Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jon Jones in 2023. Gane beat Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at the UFC's White House event in June. That bout was set up while Aspinall was unable to compete after suffering an eye injury at the hands of Gane in October 2025 in a bout deemed a no-contest. The UFC's plan was for a rematch between Aspinall and Gane for the undisputed title, but with Aspinall still unable to compete, he vacated the belt with Gane being upgraded from interim champion.

American Hokit, 28, is fifth in the UFC heavyweight rankings and is fighting for the title after only one year in the organisation. He debuted in the UFC last November and has won all four fights since, with his last win coming against Derrick Lewis in June. Former NFL player Hokit is unbeaten since his MMA debut in 2023, winning all 10 fights with six knockouts. In a similar vein to Colby Covington, Hokit adopts various controversial personas and characters during interviews to generate attention from fans. He has been accused of overstepping the line into discrimination after making racially aggravating and misogynistic comments in his post-UFC 324 interview in January. After Hokit directed misogynistic comments towards former First Lady Michelle Obama in June, UFC president Dana White described his words as "gross", "moronic", and "inappropriate". Gane is the pre-fight favourite to beat Hokit and retain his heavyweight title.

The co-main event features the return of UFC legend Amanda Nunes, who faces Kayla Harrison for the bantamweight title. The fight was originally set for January but was postponed after Harrison suffered a neck injury. Nunes, 38, is widely regarded as the best women's MMA fighter of all time. The former featherweight and bantamweight champion is the only woman in history to hold two UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously. She retired in 2023 after winning 23 of her 28 fights with 13 knockouts. Nunes' bout against Harrison will be her first since she defended the UFC bantamweight title against Irene Aldana in 2023, before later retiring and vacating the belt. Harrison won the title off Julianna Pena last year and is making the first defence of her belt. The 36-year-old is a former two-time PFL lightweight world champion before claiming gold in the UFC in only her third fight in the promotion. Overall, Harrison has won 19 of her 20 fights with her only defeat coming against Larissa Pacheco in 2022. Nunes holds a number of UFC records at bantamweight, including the most wins (13), finishes (eight) and longest win streak (nine). Harrison is the pre-fight favourite to beat Nunes and retain her bantamweight title. Britain's Chris Duncan also fights on the prelims, taking on American lightweight Drew Dober.