UFC heavyweight contender Josh Hokit was praised by UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane’s head coach ahead of UFC 334.
Hokit battles Gane in the main event of UFC 334, which takes place on Saturday, November 14, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
For Hokit, this will be his first UFC title shot opportunity after just one year on the UFC roster and a 4-0 record.
That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Gane’s head coach, Fernand Lopez, who has been nothing but impressed by Hokit’s fighting abilities inside the cage.
Fernandez Lopez Impressed by Josh Hokit
Speaking to MMAjunke.com’s Farah Hannoun, Lopez revealed that he has been nothing but impressed by Hokit, even comparing him favorably to legendary UFC heavyweight Cain Velasquez.
“He’s not just a regular, like another heavyweight just coming forward to punch people. He’s something. I think that besides Cain Velasquez, that’s a long time we didn’t have a kind of wrestler that can punch you, make you guess, go for wrestling. If it’s not working, go back to try to lock you down. He’s not just relying on wrestling. He can put you out on the feet. He can put you out, submit you, or ground-and-pound you. It’s well deserved for him, and he’s a huge challenge for Ciryl,” Lopez said.
“Of course he will wrestle, but he’s not going to wrestle right away because the good way to wrestle is to pretend that you will be striking. The good way to strike is pretend that you will be wrestling someone. So that’s the difference. That’s what he would be there to do. Ciryl creates a space between you and him, and Josh Hokit is the guy that takes out that space between you and him and brings the fight to you – brings the fight very hard, pressure, punches, and level change, and he can do that for a long time. He just hit the heavyweight record of strikes, like 177 significant strikes with the Curtis Blaydes fight. That’s huge. That shows you how good he is.”
Ciryl Gane’s Coach Understands Josh Hokit Is Selling the Fight
We all know that Hokit has a very unique social media presence, which often sees him taking to his X account and talking smack about Gane and the other heavyweight contenders on the UFC roster.
While that may bother some, Lopez has no issue with it, as he understands Hokit is just trying to get fans interested by selling the fight, which in turn will only help Gane if more eyeballs tune into the bout.
“The guy is doing his thing. He’s selling the fight. I’m not mad about it. I just don’t want to get involved in it or be talking about it, but the guy is selling the fight. He’s very good. When you can back up everything that you’re saying, so far, that’s the key. He’s backing it up. He’s 10-0. He’s beating everyone. He’s getting there,” Lopez said.
“He got tested with a very accomplished guy like Curtis Blaydes and drowned him. And he got in there with a dangerous guy like Derrick Lewis, who can just change everything with one mistake, finished him in the second round. He’s there. I mean, you don’t get better than that in an up-and-coming fighter. Of course, you have the OG, the big names that we have in the division, the Avengers, that Ciryl faced before, but we need that young people to come there and bring the fresh experience.”
Josh Hokit Praised by Ciryl Gane’s Coach Ahead of UFC 334