UFC 334 at MSG: Gane defends heavyweight title, Harrison vs. Nunes headlines co-main

UFC 334 lands at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, November 14, 2026, with two championship fights at the top of a card that doubles as one of the promotion's marquee annual stops. Heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane makes his first title defense against unbeaten challenger Josh Hokit in the main event, while women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison puts her belt on the line against Amanda Nunes — a fighter widely regarded as the greatest women's MMA athlete of all time — in the co-main.

Gane's path to the undisputed heavyweight title was anything but straightforward. After years of flux at the top of the division — Francis Ngannou's departure from the UFC, Jon Jones' retirement, and Tom Aspinall's eye injury — Gane knocked out Alex Pereira in June 2026 to claim the interim belt. He became undisputed champion in September when Aspinall vacated the title due to lingering medical complications, according to mma-official.com. Gane now holds a 14-2 record with one no contest, with seven of his 14 wins coming by knockout or TKO.

His challenger, Josh Hokit, is unbeaten in 10 professional fights and went from UFC debutant to title contender in under a year. According to CBS Sports, a win over Gane would rank among the most impressive debut-year runs in UFC history, alongside names like Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya, and Brock Lesnar. Hokit's fight against Curtis Blaydes was a Fight of the Year frontrunner, though CBS Sports notes his antics have divided opinion among fans and observers.

The co-main event carries its own considerable weight. Harrison, 19-1, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, a former UFC champion, and a two-time PFL tournament winner, according to CBS Sports. She steps into this fight coming off career-threatening neck surgery. Nunes, 23-5, is returning from a three-year retirement and is chasing the bantamweight belt — one of the few titles that eluded her during her first run in the sport. Her previous résumé includes wins over Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie (twice), and Miesha Tate.

Amanda Nunes stated there is a big difference between her and Kayla Harrison.

Joselyne Edwards has been named the official backup for the Harrison-Nunes title fight and would step in only in the event of a late withdrawal by either fighter, per mma-official.com.

The main card, which begins at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+, also features middleweight contender Caio Borralho against Yousri Belgaroui — who has finished all three of his UFC opponents to date — welterweight Uros Medic against veteran Kevin Holland, and flyweight prospect Bilal Hasan against Luis Gurule in the main card opener. The prelims (7 p.m. ET) include former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson against Charles Radtke, Drew Dober against Chris Duncan, Jim Miller against Terrance McKinney, and Donte Johnson against Cesar Almeida. Early prelims begin at 5 p.m. ET.

The entire event — early prelims, prelims, and main card — streams on Paramount+ with a standard subscription and no additional pay-per-view fee, according to mma-official.com. Plans start at $8.99 per month or $89.99 per year, per CBS Sports.

UFC's annual New York City card at Madison Square Garden has become one of the promotion's most consistent marquee dates. The venue and the market give the event a distinct profile, and this year's card features two title fights for the first time in recent memory at this stop.

Why it matters — UFC 334 offers fans two title fights in one night at one of sport's most iconic venues, with the heavyweight division's new champion tested for the first time and a women's bantamweight clash between two of the sport's most decorated fighters.

Reported by yahoo.com, cbssports.com, mma-official.com, forbes.com, mmamania.com, fightbookmma.com