UFC 334: Ciryl Gane, Kayla Harrison successfully defend titles

Round 1 saw Gane get up quickly ‌from an early takedown by Josh Hokit, then land a few sharp jabs, ​uppercuts, and an overhand right as he countered Hokit’s forward pressure.

Updated : Nov 15, 2026 13:13 IST , Chennai - 4 MINS READ

Ciryl Gane of France (right) punches Josh Hokit during a heavyweight title bout at UFC 334. | Photo Credit: AP

UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane of France successfully defended his title for the first time, sweeping the scorecards 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 against Josh Hokit in the main event of UFC ​334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.

Round 1 saw Gane (15-2) get up quickly ‌from an early takedown by Hokit (10-1), then land a few sharp jabs, ​uppercuts, and an overhand right as he countered Hokit’s forward pressure. Hokit did, ⁠however, close the round with a slam with just over 30 seconds remaining.

Hokit came back in Round 2. After Gane stuffed an early single-leg attempt, Hokit pushed forward with determination, trading heavy right hands and clinching ‌along the fence in a very physical exchange.

Hokit carried that momentum into Round 3 with a scramble takedown, then worked Gane over with several clinch ‌elbows and foot stomps before flashing him the middle finger at the bell. As ‌Hokit’s punches began to fade in Round 4, Gane took control, countering the challenger’s ⁠fence clinches with several body kicks, knees to the midsection and short, dirty-boxing uppercuts.

With the result still in the balance in Round 5, Gane stuffed Hokit’s takedown attempts and opened a cut just above his left eye, ​then dominated the striking with jabs, body shots ‌and multi-punch combinations through the end of the round.

Gane kept things simple after the fight, as did the typically brash Hokit. “It was an amazing fight,” Gane said.

Hokit said he’d enjoy the moment, even if he was on the receiving end. “Resiliency builds character,” ‌Hokit said.

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Kayla Harrison returned after a 10-month layoff for an injury that required neck ​and spinal fusion surgery, securing a fourth-round rear-naked choke at 1:29 against former two-division UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes.

The co-main event victory gave ⁠Harrison her first UFC women’s bantamweight title defence, spoiling Nunes’ return following a nearly four-year retirement.

Harrison (20-1) admitted she wasn’t sure what was next for her but took a moment to acknowledge the ‌audience. “New York City, I love you,” Harrison said after the fight.

Nunes (23-6) took her gloves off but did not make herself available for a post-fight interview.

Middleweights took centre stage next, as Brazil’s Caio Borralho remained in title contention after defeating Holland’s Yousri Belgaroui by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Borralho (19-2) has won back-to-back fights, while Belgaroui (11-4) saw his six-fight winning streak halted.

In the welterweight division, Kevin Holland and Serbia’s Uros Medic fought to a majority draw after 15 minutes, ‌with scorecards of 29-27, 28-28 and 28-28. Initial confusion followed when Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer misread the scores. One ​judge scored the fight for Holland (29-15-1), while the other two had it even against Medic (14-3-1). The bout featured several submission attempts, high-paced striking and clean clinch ⁠work. It remains unclear whether the UFC will book a rematch.

At flyweight, Luis Gurule pulled off one ⁠of the UFC’s biggest upsets of the year, defeating Indonesia’s Bilal Hasan by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). An aggressive pace and active wrestling kept the previously unbeaten Hasan (10-1) ‌off balance after a productive opening round.

After the win, Gurule (12-4) jokingly criticised ChatGPT for picking against him at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference, when Hasan did the honours.

Gurule was a ​major underdog at most sportsbooks entering the bout, earning the second win of his UFC career to open the main card.