Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit stood across from each other for the last time Friday at Madison Square Garden, where the UFC 334 ceremonial weigh-ins wrapped up fight week ahead of Saturday’s card. Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison, who meet in the co-main event for a women’s bantamweight title, had their final faceoff on the same stage. Joe Rogan hosted the ceremonial weigh-ins, which MMA Junkie streamed live starting at 5 p.m. ET. All 13 scheduled matchups took part in faceoffs.
Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends the heavyweight title against Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who arrives without a loss on his record. Harrison is 19-1 overall and 3-0 inside the UFC. Nunes is 23-5 overall and 16-2 in the promotion. Dana White promoted both title fights on X Friday, writing that the card goes live Saturday on Paramount+.
Hokit did most of the talking this week, and some of the stranger stuff too. Earlier Friday, at the official weigh-ins, he showed up acting “drunk” again, according to Championship Rounds, which posted video of him going limp on the scale and staying motionless for more than a minute. On Thursday, Championship Rounds also shared a crude line Hokit delivered from behind a table, one it said Nunes clearly enjoyed. Gane and Hokit had already faced off on Tuesday, as Spinnin Backfist posted.
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The act has a business logic behind it, at least according to Hokit. In a conversation with Daniel Cormier posted Wednesday, the two debated whether Hokit’s controversial comments help or hurt his career. Hokit pointed to Cormier’s fight with Jon Jones, claiming Cormier fought Jones for $50K, and said he isn’t willing to go through that. “I don’t want anyone to lowball me,” Hokit told Cormier, adding that he’d crack a few eggs to make an omelet if that’s what it takes.
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No further details on Friday’s official weigh-in results appeared in the coverage reviewed for this story. UFC 334 takes place Saturday, Nov. 14, at Madison Square Garden and streams on Paramount+.
My quick take: Hokit can sell the cartoon all he wants, but a 10-0 record means nobody has found the answer to him yet, and Gane is the most qualified heavyweight on the roster to ask the question. Gane at 11-2 in the UFC has spent years making big men look slow, and the first round will tell us whether Hokit’s pressure can survive the feints and the lateral movement long enough to matter. I like Gane to make him pay for every entry and take it on the feet. In the co-main, Harrison is 3-0 in the promotion and Nunes has 16 UFC wins, so this is the rare superfight where both résumés hold up under scrutiny. I’ll take Harrison, and if a judge hands out a 10-8 for one takedown and some control time, I’m writing a strongly worded column on Sunday.
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