Gane defends heavyweight title against Hokit's talk of war at UFC 334

Ciryl Gane defends the UFC heavyweight title for the first time on Saturday, facing Josh Hokit at Madison Square Garden in a UFC 334 main event that doubles as the biggest test yet for one of the sport's most divisive new voices.

The Frenchman was elevated to undisputed champion in September after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt because of ongoing complications from an eye injury, according to the BBC. Gane had already claimed the interim title by beating Alex Pereira at the UFC's White House event in June, a fight staged because Aspinall could not compete.

That absence traced back to October 2025, when Aspinall suffered the eye injury against Gane in a bout later ruled a no-contest. The promotion had hoped to stage a rematch for the undisputed title, but with Aspinall still sidelined he stood aside and Gane was upgraded instead.

Saturday marks the first time Gane, 36, has carried the undisputed belt, having previously lost title fights to Francis Ngannou in 2022 and Jon Jones in 2023. He has won 14 of 17 professional bouts since debuting in 2018, with seven by knockout, the BBC reported.

Hokit, 28, arrives fifth in the UFC heavyweight rankings and is contesting a title just a year after joining the organisation. He has won all four of his UFC bouts, most recently stopping Derrick Lewis in June, and before that produced what Yahoo Sports described as a Fight of the Year contender against Curtis Blaydes in April.

A former NFL player, Hokit has built his profile on confrontational interviews and shifting on-microphone personas in the mould of Colby Covington, according to the BBC. That approach has drawn more serious criticism too: the broadcaster reported he made racially aggravating and misogynistic comments in a post-fight interview after UFC 324 in January, and directed misogynistic remarks at former First Lady Michelle Obama in June.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show as fight week began in New York, Hokit made clear he intends to match Gane blow for blow if the contest turns niggly inside the Octagon. "If I'm putting the entertainment cap on, I owe it to the fans to do that. On top of that, he has an opportunity to do something about it," he told Uncrowned, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

He went further in framing the bout as something closer to combat without limits. "I believe all things are fair when it comes to war. He signed the contract, we're at war, and anything goes. No line," Hokit said, before adding that in a different era such hostility would carry graver consequences.

"If we were in a different day and age, that's how it'd be," he continued. "I'd kill him, and then where's his family at now? They're my people now? I still have the primal sense of that mentality. And if he kills me, it's the same thing."

Hokit's assessment of how the fight will unfold was more conventional, if no less confident. "I'm going to pressure him, and he only has a few options after that, whether he overextends or he cowers away and tries to run. He cannot run forever," he said.

"He's going to try to pitter-patter, point [fight]. He won't be able to stay away from me forever, and if he tries, he will be tired from just that. I'll get my hands on him one way or the other and then f***ing wear him out. Make him look like any other sloppy heavyweight."

Gane's own reputation inside the cage has not escaped scrutiny either, with Hokit among those who consider the champion capable of bending the rules, Yahoo Sports noted, though no specific incident was detailed.

The co-main event brings Amanda Nunes back to the Octagon against Kayla Harrison for the women's bantamweight title, a fight originally scheduled for January before Harrison's neck injury forced a postponement, the BBC reported.

Scotland's Chris Duncan, 33, also features on the card, taking on American lightweight Drew Dober during the preliminary bouts.

Prelims at Madison Square Garden are set to begin at 00:00 GMT, with the main card following at 02:00 GMT. Gane and Hokit are expected to walk out at around 04:30 GMT on Sunday, closing out a night that will decide the first direction of Gane's heavyweight reign.