The heavyweight division has a new undisputed champion: Ciryl Gane. After Tom Aspinall vacated the title due to ongoing eye complications, Gane — who won interim gold by stopping Alex Pereira in June — was elevated to the undisputed throne.
“Gane has the technique. Hokit has the chaos. On November 14, we find out which one rules the heavyweight division.”
The question that immediately followed: who gets the first shot at him?
The UFC has answered. Undefeated Josh Hokit will challenge Gane for the heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden.
It is a bold booking, and the logic is easy to see. Hokit is 10-0 with four straight UFC wins, including a decision over Curtis Blaydes and a stoppage of Derrick Lewis. He brings relentless forward pressure, a strong wrestling base from his Fresno State All-American days, and the kind of chaotic energy that has made him one of the division's most talked-about figures.
Gane, meanwhile, is the most technical striker the heavyweight division has seen in years. His movement, distance control, and kickboxing dismantled Pereira, and his only defeats have come against Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou — the two greatest heavyweights of the modern era.
The styles could not be more different. Gane wants space, angles, and a chess match. Hokit wants a brawl, a clinch, and a takedown. As Michael Bisping put it, Hokit has to wrestle Gane — standing at range with the Frenchman for 25 minutes is a losing proposition.
There is also the matter of the man left waiting. Alex Pereira has spent months campaigning for a rematch with Gane after their June meeting. For now, though, the division moves through Hokit.
On November 14 at Madison Square Garden, the heavyweight division gets its first undisputed title fight of the post-Aspinall era. Gane has the technique. Hokit has the chaos. We find out which one rules the division.
