Ciryl Gane defends his heavyweight title against Josh Hokit, unbeaten in ten pro fights, on Saturday, November 14, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Statwell’s numbers pit a rangy, experienced striker against a wrestler who has finished nine of his ten wins.
A 7.5-Inch Reach Edge for Gane
Ciryl Gane, 36, stands 6’4″ (193 cm) with an 81-inch (206 cm) reach. Josh Hokit, 28, stands 6’1″ (185 cm) with a 73.5-inch (187 cm) reach. The Frenchman lands 62% of his significant strikes in the UFC, 983 of 1,593 over 181.9 minutes of cage time, and absorbs 2.31 per minute.
On June 15, 2026, at UFC Freedom 250, Gane landed 54 of 86 significant strikes on Alex Pereira before stopping him in the second round at 1:27. Over his last five fights he is 3-1 with one no contest: the loss came against Jon Jones in March 2023, the no contest against Tom Aspinall in October 2025.
Hokit Throws More and Takes More
Across four UFC fights, Josh Hokit lands 10.27 significant strikes per minute, nearly twice Gane’s rate. He also absorbs 6.11 per minute, compared with 2.31 for the Frenchman. On April 11, 2026, at UFC 327, he landed 177 of 293 on Curtis Blaydes to win a unanimous decision.
Those figures rest on 30.1 minutes of UFC cage time, a sample Statwell flags as unstable. The American has never been knocked down in the promotion. Gane has been dropped once in fourteen UFC bouts.
Wrestling Is the Challenger’s Main Weapon
Hokit attempts 3.73 takedowns per 15 minutes in his ESPN career averages, at 47% accuracy. Gane attempts 0.66. On defense, the Frenchman has conceded 9 of 17 takedown attempts in the UFC, a 47% defense rate, while Hokit has stopped 7 of 9, or 78%.
Against Derrick Lewis on June 15, 2026, Hokit landed 2 of 3 takedowns before winning by TKO in the second round at 4:09. Statwell’s analysis points to his ability to keep Gane pinned against the fence over time, more than his raw takedown count, as a key to the fight.
Five Rounds, New Territory for Hokit
The bout is scheduled for five five-minute rounds. Gane has three UFC fights that reached the fourth round or later, according to Statwell. Hokit has never gone past the third round in the UFC. Six of his wins came by knockout, three by submission and one on the scorecards, a 90% finish rate against 71% for Gane.
Statwell’s analysis favors the Frenchman and sees Hokit’s best openings in the early rounds. Robert Whittaker gives Hokit zero chance, while Curtis Blaydes, beaten by Hokit in April, says Gane got a pass from the UFC.
Two Paths to Madison Square Garden
Josh Hokit, who trains at Jackson-Wink MMA, has won four UFC fights in seven months. He stopped Max Gimenis in 56 seconds on November 8, 2025, with two knockdowns, then finished Denzel Freeman with one second left in the first round on January 24, 2026, at UFC 324, before beating Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis.
Ciryl Gane, who trains at MMA Factory in Paris, is 11-2 in the UFC. Before Pereira, he knocked out Serghei Spivac in the second round in September 2023 and edged Alexander Volkov by split decision in December 2024 at UFC 310. His 14 pro wins break down into seven knockouts, three submissions and four decisions.
Start Times and How to Watch
UFC 334 takes place on Saturday, November 14. Early prelims start at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT), prelims at 7 PM ET (4 PM PT) and the main card at 9 PM ET (6 PM PT), on Paramount+. In France, the main card airs at 3 AM Paris time on Sunday on RMC Sport. Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes meet for the women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event. The full UFC 334 fight card and our UFC Tonight page list every bout and start time.
Subscribers to The Corner, MMA Official’s free newsletter, can make their pick until 9 PM ET on Saturday and get the result on Monday.
The statistics in this article come from the Statwell fight page, a partner of MMA Official.
