One Last Stare at the Garden: Hokit Brings the Noise, Gane Keeps His Cool as UFC 334's Final Faceoffs Set Up Saturday Night

The talking is over at Madison Square Garden. At Friday's ceremonial weigh-ins in New York, every one of UFC 334's 13 scheduled matchups squared off for the final time, MMA Weekly reported, and the last pair on stage told you everything about the heavyweight title fight that tops Saturday's card.

Josh Hokit was animated. Ciryl Gane was stoic, MMA Junkie reported. After the staredown, the unbeaten challenger made it plain that he intends to beat up the champion, according to the same report. Gane, by every account of the moment, gave him nothing back.

The numbers are locked in. Gane weighed 242.6 pounds and Hokit 231.4 at the official weigh-ins, Cageside Press reported. In the co-main event, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes both hit the 135-pound limit for the women's bantamweight title. Both championship bouts are official, though two fighters on the card missed weight, the outlet reported.

Hokit carries a perfect 10-0 professional record into the biggest night of his career, MMA Junkie reported. For a fighter who built his name on confidence and a willingness to say exactly what he thinks, there is no bigger room than the Garden to prove he can back it up.

The road to this title fight ran through a frustrating stretch for the heavyweight division. Tom Aspinall had been expected to return at UFC 334, but doctors did not clear him to compete because of his ongoing eye problems, MMA Sucka reported. Aspinall then vacated the title.

What happened next caused real confusion. Dana White initially said Gane would not be promoted to undisputed champion, LowKick MMA reported. The UFC later made Gane vs. Hokit official as an undisputed heavyweight title fight, MMA Sucka reported. Whatever the path, the belt is on the line Saturday night, and Gane walks in as the man holding it.

There is an old-fashioned appeal to this matchup. One fighter is a polished technician who keeps his composure and lets his work speak. The other is a hard-charging challenger who believes in himself out loud. Both approaches have won plenty of fights, and fans of this sport love nothing more than seeing which one holds up when the cage door closes.

Hokit's bravado will make for good television, but the cage has a way of humbling loud talkers and quiet ones alike. Gane's calm is either the mark of a champion who knows something or a man saving every ounce of energy for the moment it counts. We will find out soon enough.

What I appreciate about fight week at its best is the respect that tends to show up once the trash talk is done. Both men made weight. Both showed up and did the work. Whatever happens Saturday, two professionals will step into the cage with a title at stake, and that deserves a little respect from all of us.

For younger fans watching at home, there is something worth noticing in all of this: preparation matters. Making weight, showing up on time and handling the cameras with composure are the unglamorous disciplines that come before any big moment, in the cage or anywhere else.

The women's bantamweight title fight between Harrison and Nunes gives the card a second championship headliner, and the full slate of 13 matchups means a long night of action for anyone settling in. With Hokit's words still hanging in the air and Gane's silence answering them, the main event has all the tension a promoter could want.

UFC 334 takes place Saturday, Nov. 14, at Madison Square Garden. A Gane win would give him a clean claim to the throne after the strange way the title changed hands. A Hokit win would make him one of the year's breakout stars and put an undefeated record on top of the heavyweight division.

Either way, the talking is done. The only thing left to settle is who walks out of the Garden with the belt.