Gane makes first defense as undisputed champion; returning Nunes challenges Harrison in GOAT showdown
![Heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane (left) and No. 4-ranked Josh Hokit, who will meet at UFC 334. [UFC]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/30/news-p.v1.20260930.75565a6285a647999c06d90fadd79cfc_P1.jpg)
UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane will make his first title defense against unbeaten contender Josh Hokit, while women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and returning legend Amanda Nunes will clash for the title — and the claim to greatest of all time — on the same card.
UFC will hold UFC 334: Gane vs. Hokit at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 15 (Korean Standard Time). Both the main event and co-main event will be title fights.
In the main event, Gane (14-2-1) puts his heavyweight title on the line against No. 4-ranked Hokit (10-0) in his first defense.
Gane captured the interim heavyweight title by defeating Alex Pereira, then was elevated to undisputed champion after reigning titleholder Tom Aspinall relinquished the belt due to a recurring eye injury. The bout against Hokit marks Gane's first defense as undisputed champion.
Hokit is an undefeated prospect who has never lost as a professional. After entering the UFC through Dana White's Contender Series Season 9, he defeated Derek Lewis, Curtis Blaydes and Denzel Freeman in succession, climbing to No. 4 in the rankings in just over a year. This will be his first UFC main event and his first title fight.
The co-main event carries equal weight. Women's bantamweight champion Harrison (19-1) will defend her title against former bantamweight and featherweight champion Nunes (23-5).
A two-time Olympic judo gold medalist, Harrison has defeated Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira and Julianna Peña since joining the UFC. She claimed the bantamweight title by beating Peña and will now make her first defense.
Her opponent is Nunes, widely regarded as the greatest female MMA fighter of all time. The first woman in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously, Nunes ran a 12-fight winning streak in the UFC, defeating the top names of her era — Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko and Holly Holm among them.
Nunes, who retired in 2023, returns to the octagon after three years and five months to challenge Harrison, who claimed the bantamweight throne in her absence. The two are also former training partners, having worked together at American Top Team.
The matchup pits Nunes' long-established GOAT legacy directly against the dominant form Harrison has shown, making it a defining contest in the debate over the greatest women's MMA fighter of all time.
The rest of the card features a middleweight bout between Caio Borralho and Yousri Belgaroui, a welterweight matchup between Uros Medic and Kevin Holland, and a lightweight contest between Drew Dober and Chris Duncan.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
