Josh Hokit takes his unbeaten record into the biggest test of his career on November 14, when he challenges Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York. Gane’s head coach, Fernand Lopez, compares Hokit to Cain Velasquez, the former heavyweight champion known for blending wrestling with punching power.
An Unbeaten Wrestler With Two Statement Wins
Josh Hokit, 28, enters the title fight with a 10-0 professional record. A former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and college football player, he stands 6-foot-1 (185 cm) with a 73-inch (185 cm) reach. On April 11, 2026, at UFC 327, he beat Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision over three rounds, landing 177 significant strikes, a heavyweight record at the time. Two months later, on June 14, 2026, on the same card where Gane claimed the belt, Hokit nearly finished Derrick Lewis with an armbar in round one before closing the fight with punches in round two. He earned his UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2025, stopping Guilherme Uriel with elbows. His ten wins break down as six by knockout or TKO, three by submission and one by decision, stretching back to his first professional bout in October 2023.
Gane’s Short Road Back to the Undisputed Belt
Ciryl Gane claimed the interim heavyweight title on June 14, 2026, stopping Alex Pereira by TKO in the second round. He had held that interim belt since October 25, 2025, when his bout with champion Tom Aspinall ended in a first-round no contest after an eye poke. Aspinall’s injury kept him sidelined, and he later vacated the title, promoting Gane to undisputed champion. The Frenchman, nicknamed “Bon Gamin” (French for “Good Kid”), carries a 14-2 record, with his only other loss a first-round submission to Jon Jones in March 2023. Gane is 36, stands 6-foot-5 (196 cm), and has an 81-inch (206 cm) reach. The June 14 card unfolded on the White House lawn in Washington, an unusual venue that put both Gane’s title-claiming win and Hokit’s statement finish of Lewis in the spotlight on the same night.
Lopez Breaks Down the Velasquez Comparison
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Fernand Lopez said Hokit is not just another heavyweight who comes forward to punch. Hokit can advance, strike and change levels to keep up constant pressure, Lopez said, adding he has not seen a wrestler this complete since Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion known for his pace. Lopez said Gane’s game is built around controlling distance, while Hokit wants to close it, and that his camp has focused on the transitions between striking threats and takedown attempts. Lopez also said he respects how Hokit promotes the fight, since the challenger backs up his trash talk with performances, though Lopez prefers to stay out of that side of things himself. He said Gane is motivated by defending the belt and the opportunities that come with it, not by any particular opponent down the line. Lopez summed up Hokit as a heavyweight capable of far more than advancing to throw punches, declining to reduce him to a pure wrestling profile.
Hokit’s Corner Sees a Knockout at Close Range
Mike Winkeljohn, Hokit’s coach, said his fighter could knock out Gane, but likely with a close-range shot. Winkeljohn said fighting Gane at range would be a mistake given the champion’s reach and distance control, and that Hokit should instead push the fight toward wrestling exchanges, where he sees Gane at a disadvantage, to force mistakes rather than trade in the open. Winkeljohn added that Hokit has shown he can finish fights on the feet, on the ground and in the transition between the two, and that making Gane guess which threat is coming next could be what opens up the finish.
A Heavyweight Title Fight Built for Two Fan Bases
The bout headlines a card at Madison Square Garden that also features the Netherlands’ Yousri Belgaroui against Brazil’s Caio Borralho. It is Gane’s first title defense on American soil since being elevated to undisputed champion, and the first UFC title fight of Hokit’s career. The full UFC 334 card is available on the UFC schedule page, along with Josh Hokit’s profile on the American UFC fighters page. For Hokit, beating Gane would mean the first UFC heavyweight title of his career inside eleven professional fights.
