UFC 334 takeaways: Gane deserves a homecoming; Nunes made a costly tactical mistake

• Brett Okamoto

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  Brett Okamoto

  ESPN Staff Writer

  Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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• Jeff Wagenheim

Nov 15, 2026, 02:57 AM ET

Ciryl Gane has become accustomed to being the villain, even after some of the biggest performances of his career. But after another successful title defense -- a unanimous decision victory over Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in New York on Saturday -- maybe it's time for the UFC to give its heavyweight champion a different kind of reception. A fight in his home country could be exactly what he needs.

In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes had the experience and striking ability to give Kayla Harrison a difficult night. But instead of forcing Harrison to fight on her terms, Nunes played into the reigning champion's greatest strength. The result was a costly tactical mistake that ultimately decided the fight.

Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim give their takeaways from the two title fights.

UFC should book Gane a fight in France

UFC heavyweight champion Gane has been the recipient of a lot of boos over the past several years. I feel it's time to change that.

If you believe Gane has brought those boos on himself, that's understandable. He looked flat and almost intimidated in a loss to Jon Jones in 2023. His questionable decision-making might have cost him a win against Francis Ngannou in 2022. Tom Aspinall remains unable to compete after Gane poked him in the eye during their 2025 title fight. And his biggest win to date, a second-round finish of Alex Pereira in June, was somewhat marred by Pereira's accusation that Gane landed blows to the back of his head.

UFC CEO Dana White suggested as much during the postfight news conference Saturday. He said he believes Gane receives an appropriate amount of respect for his accomplishments, and any of the criticisms he has received -- well, he did all those aforementioned things.

But Gane also dug deep Saturday and turned away a hungry title challenger in Josh Hokit -- and was booed for it. He landed the most strikes in a single heavyweight bout in UFC history, but some fans might be talking about Hokit getting robbed of a decision Monday morning.

I would like to see the UFC look for an opportunity to put Gane in a position to be celebrated, not booed. He deserves that. Gane has built an impressive résumé that makes him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. For the past year, he has played the role of a calm, unbothered villain. I'd like to see what it looks like -- what he looks like -- in a different environment, like fighting in his home country of France. - Okamoto

Nunes was beaten by the wrong game plan

Kayla Harrison fought a Kayla Harrison fight. Amanda Nunes? She fought a Kayla Harrison fight, too.

I bet you can guess who is better at fighting a Kayla Harrison fight.

Harrison made her first defense of the UFC women's bantamweight title a success by dominating the grappling, which is no surprise considering she is a two-time Olympic judo gold medalist who has been a force on the canvas since transitioning to MMA. The only surprise is that Nunes was so willing to veer from the striking, where she held a distinct advantage, and venture into Harrison's wheelhouse.

Nunes had been away from the sport for 3½ years and is 38 years old, so going into the fight, it would have been reasonable to assume that her physical skills would be diminished. That did not appear to be the case. Instead, her game plan did her in.

If anything, Nunes gave future Harrison opponents a blueprint of what not to do against the champion -- and, yes, a few fleeting glimpses of where they might take advantage of Harrison, whose striking is rudimentary at best. Whoever steps in to challenge Harrison next will have to figure out a way to stay on their feet. Good luck with that. -- Wagenheim