Josh
Hokit believes his coaches already know how to beat Ciryl Gane,
pointing to Jon Jones’
submission victory over the Frenchman as a blueprint for their
UFC
334 heavyweight title fight.
Hokit (10-0) will challenge Gane in the main event on Nov. 14 at
Madison Square Garden in New York. The
Jackson-Wink MMA fighter believes his team’s familiarity with
the champion will give him an advantage.
Josh Hokit cites Jackson-Wink’s familiarity with Ciryl Gane
ahead of UFC 334 heavyweight title fight
Jones submitted Gane with a guillotine choke at 2:04 of the first
round at UFC 285 in March 2023 to claim the vacant heavyweight
title. Hokit hopes to produce a similar result.
“My coaches are familiar with Ciryl Gane,” Hokit said during the
UFC 334 Countdown Show. “My coaches know how to beat him because
it’s already happened. The Jackson-Wink camp, they know how to beat
Ciryl Gane in under two minutes.”
Coach Mike Winkeljohn pointed to Hokit’s conditioning and
versatility as potential advantages.
“The advantage that Josh has over Ciryl is definitely the
conditioning factor behind it,” Winkeljohn said. “He can change
levels, accelerate forward, play the game outside, and mess with
your head. So, you are fighting a really high-level, intelligent
strategist.”
Winkeljohn expects Hokit to work his way into range and find a
finish.
“Josh will not be beaten. Josh is going to slowly figure out a way
to close the gap,” he added. “It’s gonna be a lot of chaos going on
for Ciryl that he’s going to have to deal with, and Josh will find
a way to finish him.”
Gane enters the title defense after stopping Alex
Pereira at
UFC Freedom 250.