This is the UFC 334 live blog for Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit, heavyweight championship main event Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Gane (14-2, 1 NC) stands at No. 18 in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings and was recently promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion in the absence of incumbent Tom Aspinall. The circumstances are certainly controversial, with Gane being responsible for Aspinall’s current stint on the injury list due to eye pokes suffered in a title defense against Gane in October 2025. Gane soldiered on, defeating former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira via knockout at UFC White House to claim an interim belt, which put him in position to become the division’s sole titleholder with Aspinall still on the mend.
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The clear-cut choice for 2026 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year, Hokit (10-0) can cap off an unbelievable run to the top of the heavyweight division by upsetting the more experienced Gane. Hokit has drawn plenty of headlines for his bizarre and offensive comments, but when fight night rolls around, he has impressed. The onetime NFL hopeful ran through his first two UFC opponents before coming out on top of an insane Fight of the Year candidate brawl against Curtis Blaydes, and then made the most of his UFC White House opportunity by demolishing fan favorite Derrick Lewis. Now, Hokit has the chance to become UFC champion just 15 months after earning his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Check out the UFC 334 live blog for Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit below.
Guys… Josh Hokit might actually be the heavyweight champion shortly. What.
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On FanDuel, Gane closes as the considerable favorite at -215. Hokit the underdog at +180.
Marc Goddard the third man in the cage for the heavyweight championship main event.
Hokit immediately shoots in and he has Gane against the fence, he’s deep on the single leg and gets it. Good defense from Gane and he’s back to the feet. Hard jab from Gane, Hokit just lunging forward like a wild man. Both guys swinging big, is this smart for Gane? Hokit looks like he’s complaining about an eye poke, but Goddard isn’t buying it, ha ha ha! I called that that would happen.
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Hokit just relentless coming forward, Gane clips him with an uppercut, then a straight right. Hokit just toughing through these strikes. Another uppercut lands for Gane. Gane landing that jab over an dover, but Hokit keeps coming forward. What a mad man. Like, Gane is clearly winning this round, but Hokit just keeps coming at him. Hokit lands a right hand. Gane punches the body, nothing is slowing Hokit down. Hokit with the pressure and he connects with a right.
Gane stuffs a takedown attempt. He knees the body and jabs, Hokit just shrugs it off. Hokit lands a jab, but Gane counters with a clean uppercut. Gane pops Hokit’s head back with a left, Hokit gets a single leg and lifts Gane up for a slam! Whoa! Not much time to work, but that was a statement moment for Hokit. Clear Round 1 for Gane, but can he keep up the pace with Hokit?
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Gane.
Gane immediately stuffs a takedown. You can see where this is going. Left hand from Gane, then a right. Uppercut backs Hokit up. Gane sprawls and Hokit tries to control his upper body, but Gane is out of there. Hokit still throwing. Elbow from Gane, followed by a jab. Gane lands a combination. Just an ugly scrap right now, which you think might favor Hokit, but Gane isn’t shying away from it.
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Gane peppering Hokit with punches from all angles. He’s still winning, but visibly slowing, his mouth hanging open. Hokit isn’t exactly fresh, but he refuses to stop coming forward. They’re right in each other’s faces just trying to connect with any shots they can. Hokit with a big right, he’s on the attack with Round 2 coming to a close. Gane slows him with a short elbow and an uppercut.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Gane. Overall, 20-18 Gane.
Hokit immediately feints for a couple of takedowns, Gane is prepared. Gane sticking jabs and elbows in Hokit’s face. Pace has slowed considerably, to put it nicely, but this is still a dogfight with Gane and Hokit almost literally head to head as they trade short punches.
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Suddenly, Hokit changes levels and there’s the takedown, but he can’t hold Gane down. Gane just stands up. These two are EXHAUSTED. At this point, it’s almost like they’re just resting as they lean on each other in the middle of the cage. Well, resting while punching each other. Big elbow by Hokit, Gane looks like he’s struggling to get his defenses up.
Stuck in a neutral position against the fence, Hokit just starts stomping Gane’s foot. Whatever works! Hokit coming forward with punches, Gane hits him with a head kick. Gane still throwing back, but Hokit drills him with a couple of elbows. Gane pawing at Hokit with jabs. Another elbow by Hokit in close, those might have decided this round. Middle finger from Hokit to close the round.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Hokit. Overall, 29-28 Gane.
Hokit closes the distance immediately and he forces Gane to grapple with him. Gane shoves him off and lands a leg kick. Hokit marching forward with punches. Hard knee to the body from Gane, then a few uppercuts. Gane slugging it out with Hokit. Gane lands a knee to the body, Hokit maybe getting a little too sloppy with the striking because there isn’t much on these punches now. Still, he’s not letting up on the volume, and that could be enough to take this round, even though Gane is still connecting with good shots when he fires back.
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They’ve been glued together for almost this entire round, just desperately looking to stay upright and connect with whatever they can muster. In this case, it’s Gane who has shown a few more flashes of offense in the second half of the round. This is anybody’s fight.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Gane. Overall, 39-37 Gane.
