UFC 334 Cage Locks: Gane, Hokit ready for heavyweight battle

UFC 334 takes over Madison Square Garden on Saturday, featuring two major championship bouts.

Heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane puts his undisputed title on the line against undefeated contender Josh Hokit in the main event, while women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison faces former two-division champion Amanda Nunes in a highly anticipated super fight.

With championship stakes and a stacked lineup, UFC 334 promises to be a memorable night of MMA action.

Main Card

• Ciryl Gane (c) vs. Josh Hokit - UFC Heavyweight Championship

• Kayla Harrison (c) vs. Amanda Nunes - UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship

• Caio Borralho vs. Yousri Belgaroui

• Uroš Medić vs. Kevin Holland

• Bilal Hasan vs. Luis Gurule

Preliminary Card

• Stephen Thompson vs. Charles Radtke

• Drew Dober vs. Chris Duncan

• Jim Miller vs. Terrance McKinney

• Donte Johnson vs. César Almeida

Early Prelims

• Jared Gordon vs. Melquizael Costa

• Macy Chiasson vs. Bia Mesquita

• Alatengheili vs. Juan Díaz

• Evan Elder vs. Samuel Sanches

Aaron Bronsteter's picks

Cage Lock: Gane vs. Hokit ends inside the distance -285
Favourite: Ciryl Gane -190
Underdog: Amanda Nunes +150
Dart throw: Gane wins by KO/TKO in Round 2 +700

While I believe that Hokit has proven to be the real deal, I think that Gane’s style is the perfect antidote for his. If this fight goes Gane’s way, I visualize him overwhelming Hokit early and ultimately stopping him in the second or third round with the second round being more likely if Hokit cannot stop his momentum.

It is difficult to pass up Nunes at this price. The biggest question mark is the layoff and whether facing an opponent as world class as Harrison will be too much of an ask with the amount of time off. That said, Harrison has some concerns of her own coming off of a serious neck injury. Nunes certainly has value at this price.

Dan Fernandes' picks

Cage Lock: Bilal Hasan -900 
Favourite: Kayla Harrison -185
Underdog: Josh Hokit +175 
Dart throw: Macy Chiasson by decision +450

Hasan has all the makings of a top fighter and should take a significant step to stardom Saturday when he opens up the main card at MSG. At -900 he is the safest pick on the card, which doesn’t always translate into a slam dunk. But Gurule will need to show the MMA world something different and even that may not be enough.

I think Harrison will cement her legacy as one of the greatest of all-time on Saturday by defeating Nunes. Two years away from MMA and a change in team could prove to be too much for Nunes to overcome against a battle-ready Harrison, who is at the height of her powers.

Love him of hate him, Hokit is a problem for the heavyweight division. Behind one of the most polarizing athletes of all time is a dangerous mixed martial artist with an elite wrestling game and unparalleled speed at his weight class. Gane’s KO power will be a problem, but the same was said about Derrick Lewis at the White House and Hokit found a way to win. His relentless pressure over five rounds could provide a path to victory and will make for an entertaining battle regardless of the outcome.

Chiasson is a better mixed martial artist than her record shows. Mesquita is an undefeated submission wizard with a tremendous future ahead of her. But she hasn’t faced anyone quite like Chiasson before. I think the discrepancy in size and octagon experience could come into play here especially if Chiasson is able to steal the first round. Chiasson is capable of managing this fight to a victory on cards, but must find a way to negate the submission threat — something she has been able to do for most of her career.