UFC 334: Gane and Hokit make weight, both title fights official

The UFC 334 heavyweight title fight is official. On Friday, November 13, in New York, Ciryl Gane weighed in at 242.6 pounds and challenger Josh Hokit at 231.4, both far below the 265-pound divisional limit. The Frenchman will carry an 11-pound advantage into Madison Square Garden on Saturday night for the first defence of his belt.

Hokit was one of the last two fighters to step up, almost an hour and a half after the first weigh-ins. According to Yahoo Sports' live coverage, he stayed slumped on the scale for a long moment before going back to his usual antics. Gane had been cleared about twenty minutes earlier.

Harrison and Nunes right on the limit

The night's other championship bout is also set. Bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, who is coming out of retirement to chase a belt she has already held twice, both weighed 135 pounds, the maximum allowed in a title fight. CBS Sports noted it is the fourth time in her career that Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo champion, has hit that exact mark. The UFC had a backup ready: Joselyne Edwards stepped on the scale at 134.8 pounds.

Two misses on the prelims

Two fighters came in heavy. Terrance McKinney weighed 160.2 pounds, 4.2 over the limit for a non-title lightweight bout. He forfeits 30 percent of his purse to Jim Miller and the fight goes ahead at a catchweight. McKinney apologised and said he will no longer compete at lightweight. For Miller, who weighed 155.6, it will be a 48th walk to the Octagon, a promotional record.

Juan Diaz, booked at bantamweight against China's Alatengheili, first weighed 136.6 pounds, then 136.4 on his second attempt. The 0.4-pound miss costs him 20 percent of his purse, and that fight also stays on the card. Donte Johnson and Cesar Almeida will meet at an agreed 190-pound catchweight after weighing 189 and 189.6.

The rest of the card went through without trouble, including middleweights Caio Borralho (185.4) and Yousri Belgaroui (186), and Stephen Thompson (170.6), who faces Charles Radtke in the final fight of his career.

In US Eastern time, the main card starts at 9 pm on Saturday, which is 3 am on Sunday in Paris, where RMC Sport carries the broadcast. The early prelims begin four hours before that. Gane and Hokit walk last.