UFC 334 is finally here to cap off one of the craziest weeks of MMA news this year.
We began with President Donald Trump supposedly asking his buddy Dana White to become the new White House press secretary—a hilarious joke, as it turns out—then former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski seemingly made light of the death of past opponent Anthony Johnson—a simple misunderstanding, as it turns out—and THEN Usman Nurmagomedov led a gang beatdown on Merab Dvalishvili that led to all parties involved
being temporarily detained and Nurmagomedov facing six months in prison.
Oh, and Tommy McMillen allegedly overdosed at a club in Arizona. But he’s OK now!
After all that, Saturday night could end with Josh Hokit—yes, Josh freakin’ Hokit—standing in the center of the octagon with the UFC undisputed heavyweight championship belt being wrapped around his waist, a little over a year after making his debut for the promotion.
Or, it could be Ciryl Gane cementing himself as heavyweight king, a title earned in the most winding way possible after poking Tom Aspinall in the eyes, winning an interim title by beating former two-division champion Alex Pereira, and then being promoted to undisputed status because Aspinall has been stuck on the sidelines. You know, because of the whole eye thing.
Heavyweight is weird, man.
AND THEN we have the return of Amanda Nunes, one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, coming back from a three-year hiatus to finally settle her business with current bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison. It’s one of the biggest matchups in women’s MMA history, but could also signal the end of an era if both greats decide to hang it up under the Madison Square Garden lights. The whole thing is kind of surreal.
In other main card action, top 10 middleweight contender Caio Borralho defends his spot against dangerous kickboxer Yousri Belgaroui, welterweight knockout artist Uros Medic seeks another first-round finish when he faces Kevin Holland, and blue-chip flyweight prospect Bilal Hasan gets an opening showcase booking against Luis Gurule.
What: UFC 334
Where: Madison Square Garden in New York
When: Saturday, Nov. 14. The four-fight early preliminary card begins at 5 p.m. ET, followed by a four-fight preliminary card at 7 p.m. ET. The five-fight main card begins at 9 p.m. ET with the entire event streaming live on Paramount+.
(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings and Pound-for-Pound Rankings)
Ciryl Gane (2, P4P-18) vs. Josh Hokit (6)
In theory, Ciryl Gane should have this. He’s a far superior striker to Josh Hokit and has a combination of speed and agility that Hokit is yet to experience in his cagefighting career. Gane definitely has issues with consistency when it comes to big fights, but if he’s on, he should cruise to victory.
The thing with Hokit is, he’s defied all logic to even make it this far. So why should tonight be any different?
Shenanigans aside, there’s a reason Hokit has been so successful and it’s not just because of his razor-sharp wit. He’s fearless, tough as hell, can definitely wrestle, and even if he’s not as explosive as Gane, he’s still in the elite tier of athletes at heavyweight. Tai Tuivasa once had Gane in danger just by coming forward and getting dumb with it. You think Hokit can’t get dumb?
The fight completely changes if Hokit can find success with takedowns early. Hokit won’t be afraid to eat punches to get in (even if he should be), and we know that Gane has been foiled by wrestling in the past. He might not be Jon Jones, but Hokit’s wrestling is more than a notch above Francis Ngannou.
So why am I picking Gane? Remember what I just wrote about Hokit eating punches? That might fly with Curtis Blaydes, but prolonged striking exchanges with Gane rarely go well (Tom Aspinall had issues with Gane in the one round we saw them fight, Ngannou was losing the standup, and the aforementioned Tuivasa ended up getting knocked out). Even if Hokit’s plan is to just wrestle, Gane’s movement will give him headaches until he’s left with no choice but to throw caution to the wind.
And that’s when Gane connects and puts a pause on his championship dreams.
Pick: Gane
Kayla Harrison (1, P4P-3) vs. Amanda Nunes
Look, this matchup is awesome, but we have our concerns.
Kayla Harrison, 36 years old with a lifetime of high-level combat sports under her belt, coming off of a major neck surgery.
Amanda Nunes, 38 years old with 28 pro fights to her name including numerous five-round championship bouts, coming off of a layoff of over 1,250 days.
This isn’t Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano levels of concern, but suffice to say there’s a reason both fighters in the co-main event have been the subject of retirement buzz. They’ve done it all in this business—except for fight each other.
On paper, it should be Nunes all day. As much as Harrison has evolved as a mixed martial artist over the past eight years, Nunes has a significant advantage in the striking department and I give her the jiu-jitsu edge, too. If Nunes wants to keep this on the feet and kickbox her way to victory, that’s bad news for Harrison.
In Harrison’s favor is the fact that she feels closer to her athletic prime than Nunes, and this is one of the rare times Nunes won’t have a size and strength edge on her opponent. Harrison should have a lot of success in the clinch and on the ground when she gets Nunes down, and those grappling exchanges could sap Nunes’ cardio ahead of the championship rounds.
That’s where this fight gets decided. If you believe Nunes’ time off has rejuvenated her and she’s entering her comeback fight with a better comeback than ever, then the more skilled Nunes is the pick here; if you think Harrison being in fighting shape for the better part of a decade means she’s more prepared, than you should pick Harrison to outlast Nunes.
I’m going with Harrison to take Nunes’ best shots early and turn the tide in Round 3 before finishing an exhausted Nunes in the fourth.
Pick: Harrison
Caio Borralho (5) vs. Yousri Belgaroui
This is the right matchup for Caio Borralho and Yousri Belgaroui, albeit a risky one.
Having fought many of his fellow contenders already, Borralho finds himself in a spot where it’s either rematches or defending his number against up-and-coming names, and Belgaroui is the latter. Borralho got back in the win column with a solid performance against Reinier de Ridder in March, but still finds himself on the outside looking in as the 185-pound division waits for Sean Strickland to return.
The timing works perfectly for Belgaroui, an experienced kickboxer who can call himself both a past rival and current training partner of Alex Pereira. It’s easy to see the “Poatan” comparisons as Belgaroui has a lethal mixture of technical skill, one-hit pop, and enough grappling defense to not be overwhelmed by the wrestlers and jiu-jitsu artists in the division.
That said, Belgaroui has had issues keeping the fight on his feet, with Mansur Abdul-Malik and Azamat Bekoev putting him on his back multiple times in his previous UFC appearances. However, neither of those opponents did much other than try to hold Belgaroui, and he went on to beat both of them. So the question is whether Borralho can muster up any meaningful offense on the ground or at least do a better job of winning standup exchanges when they materialize.
Borralho prides himself on mixing the martial arts, so for his sake let’s hope he includes a healthy diet of single legs and body locks, and avoids the temptation of a kickboxing battle. I think he gets the job done.
Pick: Borralho
Uros Medic (12) vs. Kevin Holland
Trap game alert!
Uros Medic has been making all the right moves at 170 pounds, scoring first-round knockout after first-round knockout, including a 30-second finish over Daniel Rodriguez in front of a roaring crowd in his native Serbia this past August. A top 10 opponent should have been next.
Unfortunately for Medic and the rest of the division, the cluster at the top needs to sort itself out first and at the moment, Medic isn’t part of that equation. Rather than sit and wait for upcoming matchups to resolve, Medic instead accepted this fight with the unpredictable Kevin Holland. Given Holland’s laissez-faire attitude to fight bookings, this looks like a good opportunity for Medic to beat a veteran with a substantial following.
My hesitation to go chalk here stems from the fact that Holland has had plenty of success with strikers in his day. Medic is a get-or-get-got guy and lately he’s been doing the getting, but it feels like only a matter of time until he gets got again. That could be Saturday, especially if he’s reckless against Holland, who has a pretty good chin and lively offense when he finds a rhythm.
It will be another first-round finish alright, but I actually like Holland to pull off the upset.
Pick: Holland
Bilal Hasan vs. Luis Gurule
I’m all in on the Bilal Hasan hype, like, I get it, but this young man being 10-to-1 favorite in just his second UFC fight is crazy.
Hasan oozes star power, both with his effervescent personality and fun striking style, which involves plenty of trickery to set up his heavier offense. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to style on Luis Gurule, who has been more than a step slow in losing four of his five UFC fights. This is Hasan’s match to lose.
I just don’t think any fighter with this little octagon experience that isn’t an established name in another promotion or discipline should be given that much respect. Even with this being an obvious squash match, 10-to-1 odds for Hasan? Gurule should take this personally.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m obviously picking Hasan (KO, Round 2), I just wanted to rant about odds for a sec and also explain why Gurule finding a way to eke out an upset wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. It’s The Year of the (not Raw) Dog!
Pick: Hasan
Preliminaries
Stephen Thompson def. Charles Radtke
Drew Dober def. Chris Duncan
Jim Miller def. Terrance McKinney
Donte Johnson def. Cesar Almeida
Melquizael Costa (14 FW) def. Jared Gordon
Bia Mesquita (10) def. Macy Chiasson (13)
Juan Diaz def. Alatengheili
Evan Elder def. Samuel Sanches
