Ciryl Gane will make his first defense of the undisputed UFC heavyweight title against undefeated Josh Hokit on November 14, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Their five-round bout headlines UFC 334.
Hokit’s pressure has carried him to a 10–0 record. Against Gane, getting into punching range is only the first test. He also has to keep Gane close enough to turn those exchanges into wrestling opportunities.
How Gane Became Champion
Ciryl Gane enters at 14–2 with one no-contest. In June, he scored the bout’s only knockdown and outlanded former two-division champion Alex Pereira 54–12 in significant strikes, including 15 on the ground. He stopped Pereira at 1:27 of the second round to win the interim belt at UFC Freedom 250.
Gane’s bout with Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 ended in a first-round no-contest after an eye poke. The UFC elevated Gane to undisputed champion in September when Aspinall vacated the belt amid ongoing eye complications.
What Hokit’s Four UFC Wins Tell Us
Hokit won four UFC bouts in just over seven months, starting with his November 2025 debut. The 29-year-old was an All-American wrestler at Fresno State and spent time on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad.
In April, Hokit beat Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision, landing 177 significant strikes to Blaydes’s 174. Their 351 combined significant strikes set a UFC heavyweight record.
Hokit kept his output high while taking return fire. In Statwell’s UFC-only sample, he absorbed 6.11 significant strikes per minute across four bouts, compared with 2.31 for Gane across 14. The Blaydes fight alone accounts for nearly 95% of Hokit’s total.
How Ciryl Gane Uses His Reach
Ciryl Gane stands 6-foot-4 with an 81-inch reach. Hokit is 6-foot-1 with a listed reach of 73.5 inches. That 7.5-inch gap gives Gane room to land his jab before Hokit can answer. His kicks can make Hokit start farther out, and his lateral movement lets him reset as Hokit comes forward.
Hokit can make his pressure count by cutting off Gane’s exit and steering him toward the fence. With less room to circle, Gane has to account for both punches and takedowns. Hokit can use his punches to draw Gane’s guard up and create an opening to get in on his hips.
What Hokit Needs From His Wrestling
Gane’s opponents completed five of eight takedown attempts in his last five UFC bouts. Jon Jones and Alexander Volkov accounted for all five completions. Jones submitted Gane in the first round, while Volkov landed three takedowns in their rematch and lost a split decision. Across Ciryl Gane’s full UFC sample, opponents completed nine of 17 attempts, according to Statwell’s detailed analysis of Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit.
Hokit has completed three of six takedown attempts in the UFC. Two came against Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250, where Hokit recorded 4:04 of control and won by second-round TKO. He logged his other takedown and 3:47 of control in his first-round TKO of Denzel Freeman at UFC 324.
Against Ciryl Gane, the value of a takedown will depend on what Hokit can do with it. Holding top position gives him time to land strikes and makes Gane work to regain his feet. Gane’s coach, Fernand Lopez, compared Hokit’s ability to blend punches with wrestling entries to Cain Velasquez’s in an October interview with MMA Junkie.
What Changes in Rounds Four and Five
Gane has completed three five-round UFC fights, including decision wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Volkov. Hokit has gone the full three rounds once in the UFC, against Blaydes, and landed 82 significant strikes in the third, his highest total of the fight.
If the bout goes deep, the workload will depend on who keeps having to reset. Each time Gane breaks a clinch and gets back to open space, Hokit has to close the gap again. If Hokit can keep Gane tied up along the fence or hold him on the ground, the champion will spend more energy defending and getting back to his feet.
Gane has the edge because he can score from range and has managed the pace of five-round fights before. Watch what happens after Hokit’s first takedown attempt. If he can keep the clinch and force Gane to defend again, he has a way to keep the champion from resetting.
Follow FIGHTCORE for more updates!
