Gane retains heavyweight title on split cards as Harrison chokes out Nunes at UFC 334

Ciryl Gane retained the UFC heavyweight championship with a hard-fought unanimous decision over Josh Hokit in the main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on 15 November 2026. All three judges scored the contest 48-47 for Gane, handing Hokit the first professional loss of his career.

Hokit (10-1, 4-1 UFC) set the tone immediately, charging forward and tripping Gane (15-2, 1 NC) within seconds of the opening bell. Gane scrambled back to his feet and responded with jabs as Hokit continued to press with wide overhand rights. The champion put together one of his best combinations of the round, only for Hokit to lift and slam him before the bell.

Hokit maintained his forward pressure into the second, bloodying Gane’s nose with right hands while the champion countered with jabs and uppercuts. In the third, Hokit took Gane’s back after catching a knee to the body and landed short elbows in the clinch throughout the remainder of the round.

Gane began to assert himself in the fourth, using uppercuts to disrupt Hokit’s entries and landing more consistently to the body. In the fifth, Hokit’s punches visibly lost power as Gane mixed his attacks to the head and body both at range and in the clinch. Hokit landed two hard right hooks with around a minute remaining but could not capitalise, and the final horn confirmed Gane’s narrow retention.

In the co-main event, Kayla Harrison (20-1, 4-0 UFC) kept her women’s bantamweight title by submitting Amanda Nunes (23-6, 16-3 UFC) with a rear-naked choke at 1:27 of Round 4. Harrison was returning from neck surgery, while Nunes was competing for the first time since retiring as champion in June 2023.

Nunes made a strong start, stunning Harrison twice with right hooks and countering a takedown attempt with a short uppercut in the opening round. Harrison responded by throwing Nunes to the mat and landing punches and elbows from a scarf hold. The second round saw Nunes pursue takedowns of her own, but Harrison reversed one attempt with a throw, trapped Nunes in a crucifix and again worked with punches and elbows.

Harrison appeared fatigued at the start of the third as Nunes took her down against the fence and later took her back. Harrison turned into Nunes’ guard and opened a cut with an elbow. In the fourth, Nunes landed a left hook in the clinch, but Harrison responded with a trip, secured the rear-naked choke and forced the tap to end the contest.