Jon Jones says Josh Hokit has a real shot at shocking heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane at UFC 334 on November 14. The pick carries weight: Jones is the only man to have beaten Gane as a professional.
The only man who beat Gane picks the underdog
Jon Jones submitted Ciryl Gane in under a minute at UFC 285 in 2023 to win the heavyweight title. Retired from competition since, he remains one of the most followed voices on the division he once ruled. Asked about Hokit’s title shot against Gane, Jones did not hedge: “My prediction is that I believe Hokit could very well win.”
Jones also admitted the result matters to him personally. “I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t work out for me when Ciryl Gane beats people,” he added. A Gane win keeps the shine on Jones’s own finish of the Frenchman at UFC 285. A loss to a fighter who debuted in the UFC barely a year ago would complicate how that result ages.
Hokit, the unbeaten 28 year old chasing a title in his second year
Josh Hokit enters the fight 10-0 in MMA and 4-0 in the UFC. He will challenge for heavyweight gold just days after the one year anniversary of his promotional debut, an unusually fast climb for a division that typically rewards patience. His 2026 run includes wins over Denzel Freeman, Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis, the last one a second round TKO at UFC White House. A former American college wrestler, Hokit has also built a reputation for theatrics, including a hotel hallway confrontation with Jiri Prochazka earlier this year. Bookmakers list him as the favorite over the champion, an unusual position for a first time title challenger. Hokit also spent part of the June UFC Freedom 250 card alongside Zahabi at the White House event, a stop on the same run that produced his win over Lewis.
Why most analysts still favor the champion
Jones’s pick runs against the grain of most expert breakdowns, which lean on Gane’s experience and footwork to get him through five rounds. Bantamweight contender and UFC analyst Aiemann Zahabi laid out that case on the Bohnfire podcast, backing Gane: “Too much experience. His striking is phenomenal. His distance control is incredible.” Zahabi said he leans toward Gane based on octagon experience, while adding that whoever wins could emerge as a credible lineal champion for a heavyweight division that badly needs one. Zahabi, who has shared cards with Hokit this year, said he could not wait to hear the trash talk the matchup will generate, calling Hokit’s rise good for a division in need of new storylines.
Jones’s reasoning leans on style rather than data. A dominant wrestler himself for most of his career, Jones has always rated fighters who can change levels and control position, which is Hokit’s calling card against a heavyweight who built his reputation on the feet. Jones did not detail where exactly he sees Gane’s wrestling defense breaking down, offering a gut read rather than a breakdown of tape.
Gane’s case for a first defense
Ciryl Gane carries a 14-2 record, 11-2 in the UFC. He won the interim heavyweight belt by stopping Alex Pereira in the second round at UFC White House, then was elevated to undisputed champion after Tom Aspinall withdrew from the division. That promotion made Gane the first French fighter to hold an undisputed UFC heavyweight title, a division no French fighter had previously led. The win over Pereira, among the sport’s best standing strikers at heavyweight, reinforced Gane’s reputation as the most technical striker in the weight class. That win also came at UFC White House, giving American fans a direct look at the champion before he steps into Madison Square Garden for the first time as titleholder.
What is at stake at Madison Square Garden
UFC 334 headlines at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 14, with Gane defending his heavyweight title against Hokit. A win for either man would help stabilize a division that has spent long stretches without its champion in the cage due to injury. For American fans, the appeal is straightforward: a 28 year old homegrown wrestler, unbeaten and fast rising, gets an early crack at a title most expected him to wait years for.
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