Curtis Blaydes says Ciryl Gane gets a pass from the UFC that other fighters would not, a week before Gane makes the first defense of his heavyweight title against Josh Hokit. In an Instagram video posted on November 6, Blaydes gave Gane a 75 percent chance of poking Hokit in the eye in round one of their November 14 main event at Madison Square Garden.
Blaydes doubles down
In the comments on another of his posts, a fan asked Blaydes whether Gane’s French nationality explained why he keeps avoiding punishment for repeated fouls, also naming Alexander Volkov and Nassourdine Imavov. Blaydes answered with one word: “100%.” BVM Sports reported a similar comment from Blaydes the same day, in which he called the UFC’s treatment of Gane favoritism.
An undisputed title with an asterisk
Gane was elevated to undisputed heavyweight champion in September 2026 after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt. Their October 2025 fight at UFC 321 had ended in a no contest following an accidental eye poke from Gane, and Aspinall’s timeline to return stayed uncertain in the months after. Gane carries a 14-2 record with that one no contest. His last loss came at UFC 285 in March 2023, when Jon Jones submitted him just over two minutes into the first round. Since then, the French heavyweight has gone 3-0 with the no contest over four outings: a win over Alexander Volkov at UFC 310 in December 2024, the no contest against Aspinall, and a knockout win over Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in June 2026. Pereira accused Gane of landing multiple strikes to the back of his head while referee Herb Dean let the fight continue.
In late October, former champions Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw pushed back on the cheating claims. Cruz said that if an opponent can poke him in the eye, the opponent is the one doing something wrong, and that he does not see Gane as a cheater. Dillashaw pointed to Pereira’s fans as quick to call every landed shot illegal, and said he felt for Dean, who was booed by the crowd that night.
Hokit already has Blaydes’ number
Blaydes’ prediction carries extra weight given his own history with Hokit. Josh Hokit is unbeaten in MMA at 10-0, including a 4-0 run inside the UFC, with wins over Blaydes and Derrick Lewis in his last two outings. His win over Blaydes at UFC 327 earned him Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. Blaydes, a longtime heavyweight contender, has never fought Gane himself, but the two share a common opponent in Hokit, giving his prediction a firsthand edge that other critics of Gane do not have.
Harrison-Nunes headlines the co-main event
The rest of the UFC 334 main card carries its own storylines. Kayla Harrison makes the first defense of her women’s bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes, who returns after more than three years away from the sport. Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo gold medalist who came over from the PFL, won the UFC title in June 2025 by submitting Julianna Pena with a kimura, improving to 19-1. Nunes brings a 23-5 overall record, including a 16-2 mark in the UFC, and the two were longtime teammates at American Top Team before Nunes left the gym in 2022. Harrison and Nunes were originally booked to meet at UFC 324 in January before Harrison withdrew with a neck injury. Earlier this month, the UFC named contender Joselyne Edwards as a backup fighter in case either champion pulls out. Caio Borralho, Uroš Medić and Bilal Hasan round out the main card against Yousri Belgaroui, Kevin Holland and Luis Gurule.
How to watch UFC 334
The main card starts at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) on Paramount+, with the preliminary card at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) and the early prelims at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) also streaming on Paramount+ and UFC Fight Pass. Viewers in the United Kingdom will see the main card start at 2 a.m. on November 15, with central European viewers tuning in at 3 a.m. the same morning. See the full 2026 UFC schedule and the roster of American UFC fighters on our dedicated pages.
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