UFC 334 weigh-ins: Gane and Hokit make weight for heavyweight title fight as two prelim fighters miss the mark

Both title fights are official

The UFC's return to Madison Square Garden is officially on. Heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane and challenger Josh Hokit both made weight on Friday morning in New York City, as did women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and returning challenger Amanda Nunes, setting up a two-title-fight card at UFC 334 on Saturday night.

Gane tipped the scales at 242.6 pounds, while Hokit weighed in at 231.4 pounds, an 11-pound gap between champion and challenger. Harrison and Nunes both hit 135 pounds on the dot for the co-main event, the exact championship limit. With the official weigh-ins complete, the promotion moved to the ceremonial weigh-ins and final faceoffs at the Infosys Theater attached to Madison Square Garden, where all 13 scheduled matchups stared down one final time.

The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+, with early prelims at 5 p.m. ET and prelims at 7 p.m. ET. It is the UFC's 10th annual visit to Madison Square Garden.

Gane defends against the unbeaten Hokit

Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) makes the first defense of the undisputed heavyweight championship he inherited after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt. The Frenchman, the first French champion in UFC history, earned the interim title by beating Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in June, and now faces the most unusual challenger of his reign.

Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has reached a heavyweight title fight after just four UFC appearances, powered by wins over Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes and by an outsized personality that has made him one of the sport's most talked-about newcomers. The undefeated challenger leaned into the moment all week, mocking the champion at the pre-fight press conference and embracing the underdog role in front of the New York crowd.

The size difference is modest by heavyweight standards, and Hokit has built his run on athleticism and pressure rather than bulk. Gane's game is built on range, movement and kicks, and the champion will look to keep the challenger at the end of his reach for five rounds. Hokit needs to close distance, make it messy and test whether the champion's composure holds under sustained pressure.

Former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has publicly backed Hokit to pull off the upset. The betting markets disagree, installing Gane as the favorite, but the challenger's unbeaten record has made this one of the most intriguing heavyweight title fights in recent memory.

Harrison and Nunes meet at last

The co-main event may be the bigger fight historically. Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist, defends the women's bantamweight title she won by submitting Julianna Pena at UFC 316 against Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC), the former two-division champion coming out of retirement after three and a half years away.

Nunes has not fought since beating Irene Aldana in June 2023, when she walked away holding both the bantamweight and featherweight titles. She remains the only woman ever to hold two UFC titles at the same time, and her eight victories in women's bantamweight title fights are the most in divisional history. A win on Saturday would make her the first woman to regain a UFC title after retirement.

The two former American Top Team teammates stood inches apart at the ceremonial faceoffs, Harrison with the belt over her shoulder. Their shared history at the Florida gym, and the tension that followed when Nunes left the team, has given the matchup a personal edge neither fighter has tried to hide. Joselyne Edwards weighed in at 134.8 pounds as the official backup for the co-main event.

Harrison's path to the title has been built on Olympic-level judo, suffocating top control and submissions, while Nunes brings the most decorated striking resume in the division's history. The clash is stark: Harrison wants the fight on the mat, Nunes wants it standing, and the early exchanges will reveal whose game dictates the terms.

Two prelim fighters miss weight

Not everything went smoothly on the scales. Terrance McKinney weighed in at 160.2 pounds for his lightweight prelim against Jim Miller, more than four pounds over the 156-pound limit. Miller, who weighed 155.6 pounds, agreed to the fight at a catchweight, and McKinney will forfeit 30 percent of his purse. McKinney later apologized on social media and said he is moving up to welterweight.

Juan Diaz also missed, coming in at 136.4 pounds for his bantamweight bout against Alatengheili, who weighed 135.6 pounds. Diaz missed by 0.4 pounds and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse, with that fight also proceeding at a catchweight.

The misses were the only blemishes on an otherwise clean weigh-in day. Every other fighter on the 13-fight card hit their contracted weight, and both championship bouts were confirmed without issue. For McKinney and Diaz, the financial penalties and the catchweight conditions add pressure to fights they now enter having already lost at the scales.

What is at stake on Saturday

UFC 334 is a rare card where both title fights carry genuine historical weight. Gane can cement his status as the division's true champion with a first defense against an unbeaten challenger, while Hokit can complete one of the fastest rises to a UFC title in heavyweight history. In the co-main, Harrison can defend her belt against the greatest women's fighter of all time, while Nunes can return from retirement and reclaim a throne she never lost inside the cage.

The ceremonial weigh-ins closed with the two champions and their challengers facing off one last time. On Saturday night, the talking ends. Two belts, two legacies and one of the biggest stages in the sport are on the line.