UFC 334: Josh Hokit Went From Contender Series to a Title Shot in Under a Year
On November 14 at Madison Square Garden, Ciryl Gane defends the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship against a man who had his first UFC fight less than a year ago and is ranked sixth in the division.
Josh Hokit is 10-0. He is also the most divisive title challenger the heavyweight division has produced in years, and the fight has not even happened yet.
How Gane Became Champion Without Winning a Title Fight
The path here is strange, so take it in order.
In October 2025, Gane fought then-champion Tom Aspinall. The fight ended in a no contest after Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes midway through the first round and Aspinall could not continue.
In June 2026, Gane beat Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 to win the interim heavyweight title.
On September 14, Aspinall vacated the undisputed belt after re-injuring his right eye in training for a rematch, with no timetable for return. “I don’t want to hold the heavyweight division up,” he said.
Gane was then promoted from interim to undisputed champion during a UFC broadcast in late September.
Dana White Said the Opposite, Then Reversed
This is the part the UFC would rather forget. In mid-September, White was asked directly whether Aspinall vacating made Gane the undisputed champion.
“Does it make Ciryl the undisputed champion? No. He’s still gotta fight,” White said. He added that “we’ll see how this whole thing plays out with Aspinall, and Ciryl will fight, and we’ll see who becomes the champion.”
Days later the promotion reversed course and recognized Gane as champion outright. The explanation offered was that White had misspoken.
So the heavyweight title changed status twice in a week based on a press availability and a correction.
Who Hokit Is
He is 28, from Bakersfield, and arrived in combat sports by an unusual route. He walked on at Fresno State and competed in both wrestling and football, becoming a wrestling All-American while rushing for 1,260 yards and 17 touchdowns. The 49ers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and he did not make the roster.
His MMA record is 10-0 with six knockouts and three submissions. He debuted in the UFC in November 2025 and has gone 4-0 since: a first-round TKO of Max Gimenis, a first-round TKO of Denzel Freeman, a unanimous decision over Curtis Blaydes in April that was widely called a heavyweight classic, and a second-round TKO of Derrick Lewis in June.
Four fights in under a year, two of them against legitimate contenders. That is a real run.
Why People Are Angry About It
Hokit is ranked sixth. Getting this shot means jumping Aspinall, Sergei Pavlovich, Pereira and Alexander Volkov.
His behavior has not helped. He has accused Gane of cheating over the eye pokes, publicly questioned whether Aspinall’s eye injuries are real, and speculated without evidence that Aspinall might be trying to get out of the UFC. He joked that doctors could prescribe Volkov fights to insomniacs. He choked a fan unconscious at a meet-and-greet during a requested stunt.
Asked about his own title shot on The Ariel Helwani Show, he turned it back on the champion: “I don’t think you should reward someone for cheating.”
He argued Gane’s elevation to undisputed is undeserved given how the Aspinall fight ended, while acknowledging it helps his own case.
Gane Deserves Better Framing Than He Is Getting
Lost in the noise is that Gane has beaten Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall and Alex Pereira across his career and is unbeaten in his last four.
He did not ask for the title to be handed to him in a press release, and he did not ask for the promotion to contradict itself about his status. He won an interim belt against a former champion and the division collapsed around him.
The card around this one is strong too, with Kayla Harrison defending the women’s bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes and Stephen Thompson fighting his retirement bout against Charles Radtke.
Hokit has talked his way into the biggest fight in the division and backed it up four times. November 14 is where that stops being an argument.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
