Luis Gurule, a +700 underdog, won a split decision over previously unbeaten Bilal Hasan (-1100) to open the main card at UFC 334 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Oddsmakers gave Gurule almost no chance against the night's heaviest betting favorite, and the scorecards read 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

Hasan, 25, entered with a 10-0 record with one no contest and a reputation for explosive striking. He had earned a Dana White's Contender Series contract in August with a 45-second knockout of Mridul Saikia, then made a quick octagon debut 18 days later at UFC Shanghai, where he knocked out Nilson Rojas in the second round. Placing him on the main card of a numbered event in only his second UFC fight was a deliberate move to introduce him to a wider audience.S3S1

Gurule, 11-4, had gone 1-4 in the UFC since debuting in April 2025, and had lost four of his five fights since the start of 2025. Hasan landed more significant strikes, but Gurule threw more total strikes and controlled ground time after landing two of five takedown attempts. Gurule said his plan was always to take the fight to the mat, telling reporters, "I dragged him into deep waters, I knew he couldn't take it. I knew he couldn't swim."S1S3

Gurule used his post-fight interview, with a large gash over his left eye, to take aim at the oddsmakers and at ChatGPT. Before the bout, Hasan had asked the chatbot for a prediction, and it had called a first-round TKO for Hasan. Gurule responded, "Hey, ChatGPT don't know s***," adding, "F*** the odds, f*** the haters." He also said, "There's only 10 people in here that f***ing believed in me, maybe a handful of people that I train with, and it feels f***ing good."S1S2