Saturday, November 14 sees the UFC return to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane attempts to defend his title against Josh Hokit.
Gane, who won an interim title against Alex Pereira back at UFC Freedom 250 in June, was elevated to undisputed champ when Tom Aspinall vacated his title, due to an eye injury suffered in his fight against Gane last year.
Hokit, meanwhile, has had a quick rise up the heavyweight ranks. He entered the UFC last year, and is getting his title shot after just four fights in the promotion. Of course, having a Fight of the Year contender against Curtis Blaydes then knocking out Derrick Lewis at the White House didn’t hurt his cause. Nor, it seems, has his pro wrestling-style promotion, trash talking, and controversial comments, including calling Michelle Obama “a man” and acting out vaguely racist stereotypes.
While Dana White has admitted his dislikes Hokit’s commentary, the reality is, fans either love him or love to hate him, which is a win in the end for the promotion. And unlike, say, Chael Sonnen, who never strayed from his wrestling-heavy style, Hokit, an accomplished wrestler, has hands, and has overall been entertaining in the cage.
The co-main event of UFC 334 sees Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes finally face off, the biggest fight to be made on the women’s side of the sport. Nunes returns from retirement for the fight, while Harrison enters off neck surgery that pushed the bout back the better part of a year.
Watch the full UFC 334 pre-fight press conference, which takes place on Thursday, November 12, above. It kicks off at 6PM ET, 3PM PT.