Sean O'Malley wants to see Josh Hokit as UFC heavyweight champion.
Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) challenges Ciryl Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) for the heavyweight title in Saturday's UFC 334 main event (Paramount+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Hokit, who joined the UFC in 2025 through Dana White's Contender Series, had a fast rise after making headlines in and out of the octagon. O'Malley thinks Hokit's unfiltered nature would make him an interesting champion for the UFC.
"I want to see Josh Hokit win so bad," O'Malley said on his YouTube channel. "I'm a big fan of Ciryl Gane. I love his style, I love how he can do that at heavyweight, but I want to see Josh Hokit win. I want to see him continue this f*cking character and be just an absolute
menace to the UFC. I am nervous.
"It's a five-round fight with Ciryl Gane, who is one of the most experienced – he's fought the best of the best. His resume is stacked. He's only 14-2. He hasn't had that many fights. I guess he had kickboxing fights, but it seems like he's fought the best of the best in the UFC. Josh Hokit's fought Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes, good guys, nowhere near the level of guys Ciryl Gane's fought."
Hokit is a slight underdog against Gane, and O'Malley admits it's a hard fight for the undefeated American.
"Josh Hokit is going to have to crack Ciryl Gane early, which puts him in danger, but it's also one of the only ways he can win this fight," O’Malley said. "If he can steal the momentum from Ciryl Gane, hurt him early, take the momentum, he has to do that every round. Ciryl Gane is dangerous.
"He talked himself into a title shot, and now he's fighting Ciryl Gane. ... Josh Hokit has to crack him on the chin, take him down, and fatigue him. Could he knock him out? Yes. Is it likely? Not early. Could he take him down? I think he's going to have to just try to mix it up, take him down, but f*ck, dude, getting anywhere close to Ciryl Gane is going to be so f*cking dangerous."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Sean O'Malley wants 'to see Josh Hokit win so bad' at UFC 334
