UFC 334 fight card -- Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit: Five biggest storylines to follow in New York

The heavyweight and women's bantamweight titles are on the line on Saturday night Nov 9, 2026 at 1:14 pm ET • 6 min read Ever since the UFC first put on a fight card at "The World's Most Famous Arena" in 2016, the promotion's annual November stop inside New York's Madison Square Garden has felt like one of the biggest events of the calendar. That sentiment only continues on Saturday when a pair of intriguing title bouts top the marquee in midtown Manhattan for UFC 334, which is headlined by a heavyweight championship bout between Ciryl Gane and brash newcomer Josh Hokit. In the co-main event, champions from separate eras will clash with history at stake as Kayla Harrison defends her women's bantamweight title against former champion (and former teammate) Amanda Nunes, who returns from a three-year retirement to look to regain her crown. Sign up for Paramount+ and watch UFC 334 for no additional fee -- every UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year! As we draw closer to this weekend's event, let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines surrounding UFC 334. 1. It's time for Ciryl Gane to shed his reputation as a dirty fighterWhile Gane has maintained his innocence from the standpoint of deliberately fouling his opponents, it's hard to avoid the fact that his last two fights were clouded in controversy thanks to numerous accidental eye pokes against Tom Aspinall and a series of strikes behind the head against Alex Pereira. Let's face it, the sport's glamour division has largely been a mess in recent years, from Francis Ngannou's exit from the promotion to Jon Jones' avoidance of Aspinall. And now that Gane, a two-time interim titleholder, has been upgraded to full champion after multiple eye surgeries caused Aspinall to vacate his title, the division has never needed stability and a lack of controversy at the top more than it does right now. But are the accusations against Gane justified? On one hand, the 36-year-old French striker doesn't carry himself as a villain or rulebreaker and is generally considered a humble sportsman. On the other hand, previous opponents, from Junior dos Santos and Tai Tuivasa to Jones, Sergey Spivac and Alexander Volkov have accused him of employing intentionally illegal tactics. That appears to be more of a reckless pattern than bad luck or a series of aberrations. If Gane is going to be perceived as the legitimate heavyweight king – which, like it or not, comes with the label of being "the baddest man on the planet" – a clean victory over Hokit would be preferred. 2. Is MMA truly ready for a world with Josh Hokit as heavyweight champion?Unbeaten in 10 pro fights, including four walks to the Octagon, Hokit has transformed seemingly overnight from an unknown heavyweight to finding himself on the verge of becoming a UFC champion. The fact alone that Hokit will only be one year and six days removed from having his UFC debut when he touches gloves with Gane on Saturday makes his story a supremely intriguing one. But, let's be honest, we are talking about "The Incredible Hok" here. A fighter whose pro wrestling-inspired personality on the microphone is seemingly designed to flagrantly offend just about everyone in the room. There have been plenty of charismatic UFC champions in the past, adept at trash-talking or causing a scene whenever the spotlight is on them. (Just Google "prime Conor McGregor" if you're new to the sport.) But no one before has been as brazen, bizarre and flagrant as Hokit, who last week released an explicit rap diss track titled "MSG Freestyle" aimed at the entire division. A former walk-on at Fresno State University who excelled at both wrestling and football on the elite level, Hokit's transition from All-American wrestler and NFL practice squad player to UFC title challenger is one of the great success stories of the modern era, and a victory Saturday would make him a legitimate candidate for fighter of the year in 2026. But if he wins, will we be talking more about the actual fight itself or more about what he said and did during his post-fight interviews? Buckle up. 3. Kayla Harrison-Amanda Nunes is a true women's MMA superfightWhether it was pioneering fights like Cris Cyborg-Gina Carano in 2009 or Ronda Rousey-Miesha Tate I in 2012 that first put women in a headlining role under the Strikeforce banner, or the Rousey-Liz Carmouche clash in 2013 that served as the UFC's first female title bout, women's MMA has a noted history of memorable fights. There have been major upsets (Holly Holm-Rousey in 2015) and all-action clashes (Zhang Weili-Joanna Jedrzejczyk I in 2020) worthy of consideration among the all-time great fights. But how many all-female clashes have been worthy of the title of superfight? One could make arguments for Rousey-Carano in May under the MVP banner or Valentina Shevchenko-Zhang at UFC 322 last fall, but the former featured two fighters way past their prime and the latter turned out to be a one-sided fight heavy on grappling. The correct answer, of course, is Amanda Nunes-Cris Cyborg in 2018 at UFC 232, when Nunes moved up in weight to capture a second title and via first-round knockout. Saturday's co-main event might be the only other fight to truly fit that description heading in as Nunes, the greatest female fighter in MMA history, returns from a lengthy retirement to try and regain her title against Harrison who, at 19-1, has been one of the most dominant fighters the sport has ever produced. The fact that they are former teammates with a legit backstory (which fueled Nunes' exit from their shared American Top Team gym) only adds to the storyline, 10 months after the fight was originally scheduled for January. 4. Win or lose, is this the last fight of Kayla Harrison's career?At 36 and fresh off neck surgery that forced a postponement of the long-awaited Nunes clash, Harrison remains unsure whether she plans to continue her pro MMA career, which began in 2018. During a recent string of interviews over the past month, Harrison said she might've already retired had the Nunes fight not come to fruition and added that she's fully satisfied with everything she has accomplished in her incredibly decorated combat sports career. Not only did Harrison win a pair of Olympic gold medals in judo and capture her UFC title last summer, but she also previously won a pair of PFL lightweight season tournaments and the $1 million total prize that came with each. Harrison may not own as many elite wins as some of the other female MMA greats, but potentially adding a win over Nunes would take her legacy to a new level. But aside from the physical wear and tear she has absorbed, along with the fact that she's a full-time single mother of two children she adopted from one of her siblings, the biggest obstacle throughout her UFC run has been the weight. Harrison competed in judo at 172 pounds and spent the majority of her MMA career at 155 pounds. UFC folded its 145-pound women's division in 2023, so the fact that Harrison cut down to the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds even one time is remarkable, let alone the fact that she will do it again this week for the fourth straight time. Regardless of what happens during and after the Nunes fight, Harrison has authored one of the most unique and successful careers combat sports has ever seen. 5. We're about to find out how good Yousri Belgaroui really isAn accomplished kickboxer from the Netherlands, the 34-year-old Belgaroui has very much lived up to his nickname of "The Boogeyman" through three trips to the Octagon over the past 13 months. Belgaroui, who trains with Glover Texeira and Alex Pereira in Connecticut, recorded TKOs in all three and bounced back from a decision loss on "The Dana White Contender Series" in 2023 by scoring a knockout in his return the following year. A former rival of both "Poatan" and Israel Adesanya in GLORY kickboxing, Belgaroui isn't just stepping up in competition on Saturday against the No. 6-ranked UFC middleweight Caio Borralho; he's making a full-sized leap. This should show UFC matchmakers exactly what Belgaroui is capable of, considering Borralho is 8-1 inside the Octagon and within striking distance of a title shot thanks to wins against the likes of Abus Magomedov, Jared Cannonier and Reinier de Ridder.