UFC 334 Salaries For Ciryl Gane, Josh Hokit, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes

The UFC made its annual November visit to Madison Square Garden on Saturday night as UFC 334 took place at the World’s Most Famous Arena. At the head of the marquee was a UFC Heavyweight Championship collision between defending titleholder Ciryl Gane and his undefeated challenger, Josh Hokit.

In addition, further gold was on the line in the co-main event as Women’s Bantamweight Champion Kayla Harrison put her crown on the line against UFC Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes, who was returning to action for the first time in more than three years.

The full salaries from the event have now emerged and they certainly make for interesting reading. Below is a look at all the action that took place in the card’s major fights, together with a breakdown of how much each fighter on the show banked.

Ciryl Gane Defeated Josh Hokit to Retain UFC Heavyweight Championship

Gane was promoted from interim titleholder to the full UFC Heavyweight Champion in September after Tom Aspinall surrendered the crown due to injury. Saturday’s bout with Hokit marked the Frenchman’s first title defence, and he was forced to pull out all the stops to hang on to the gold against a relentless challenger.

Having been accused of fouls by both Aspinall and Alex Pereira in his prior two fights, Gane was at the centre of more controversy in the very first round of his meeting with Hokit.

The champion appeared to accidently rake the eyes of his American foe, but referee Marc Goddard declined to halt the fight or even warn Gane for the act, despite Hokit’s complaints.

‘The Incredible Hok’ would later claim that the exchange had “left him seeing triple” for the rest of the fight. However, if the 29-year-old was struggling, he managed to push through the discomfort like a man possessed.

Through the first half of the fight, Hokit marched forward with a committed intensity, frequently finding Gane’s while forcing the champion to fight at a pace that he didn’t appear comfortable with at all.

Ultimately, though, Gane’s championship-level experience paid dividends. The 36-year-old secured both the fourth and fifth rounds on the scorecards of all three judges to secure a unanimous decision victory against a fighter in Hokit who had never gone further than three rounds as a professional.

The official cards didn’t go down well in some quarters, with many arguing that Hokit’s efforts deserved more credit from the judges. UFC CEO Dana White didn’t agree with that assessment, but indicated in his post-fight press conference that he would be open to seeing a rematch between the pair.

Kayla Harrison Submits Amanda Nunes in UFC 334 Co-Main Event

Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Former two-division UFC champion Nunes hadn’t competed inside the Octagon since retiring in June 2023. However, ‘The Lioness’ picked the toughest possible opposition for her comeback fight in the form of reigning Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Harrison.

Billed as the biggest women’s MMA bout in history, Nunes entered the fight as an underdog according to oddsmakers. She made light of that status in the early stages of the fight, landing heavy shots on Kayla in the opening minutes of the contest.

Towards the end of the first round, the two-time Olympic judo champion finally got close enough to her opponent to throw her to the ground. From that point on, Harrison grew in confidence, and took Nunes to the mat on several occasions afterwards.

The end would come in the fourth round when Harrison took Nunes’ back and sank in a tight rear naked choke. Amanda knew her fate immediately and tapped out in quick order, ending her dreams of a fairytale return to action.

UFC 334 Salaries Revealed

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

There may have been little to split Gane and Hokit in the main event, but there was a huge difference in what they were paid for the fight. Per the estimated payouts for the event, Gane banked $818,000, while Hokit walked away with just $281,000. Both of those amounts include the $100,000 that the pair were awarded for competing in the Fight of the Night.

Hokit actually earned less for headlining the main card than Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson did for main-eventing the preliminary card. The veteran striker pocketed $411,000 for his spectacular knockout victory over Charles Radtke in a bout that marked the end of his professional career.

Interestingly, it was Nunes who picked up the biggest payday on Saturday night, despite her loss. The only fighter on the card to earn seven figures, she was paid $1,200,000.

By contrast, Harrison received only $411,000 (which included a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus). After scoring a victory in what was promoted as the biggest fight in female MMA history, she could have been forgiven for expecting a more lucrative salary.