Fernand Lopez isn't dismissing Josh Hokit heading into UFC 334. Ciryl Gane's coach told interviewers that Hokit's style reminds him of Cain Velasquez, the former heavyweight champion and one of the division's all time greats, and warned that Hokit could be a much bigger problem for Gane than most expect.

The comparison comes as Gane defends the undisputed heavyweight title against Hokit on November 14, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York, with Tom Aspinall, the division's number one ranked fighter, sidelined for the foreseeable future. That absence is what opened the door for Hokit, our own number four ranked heavyweight, to get a crack at the belt.

Both men are coming off big finishes from the same night. Gane stopped Alex Pereira with punches in the second round. Gane sits at a 1559 Elo across four bouts in our system, with Hokit actually rating higher at 1613 across four tracked bouts in the UFC, and a global Elo of 1639, though Elo alone doesn't account for weight class strength or recency the way a full model does.

The betting markets still have this one squarely in Gane's favor, with the champion priced at minus 260 against Hokit's plus 216. Our model agrees with the gap, giving Gane a 71 percent chance against Hokit's 29, both labeled lean confidence rather than a lock.

News of the pairing has already stirred discussion on r/MMA, where fans are talking through the UFC's Saturday announcement that Gane and Hokit will headline UFC 334 at MSG for the undisputed title. Whether Lopez's Velasquez comparison holds up is exactly what November 14 will test.