Michael Bisping thinks Ciryl Gane will be a very stern test for Josh Hokit at UFC 334.
With Tom Aspinall vacating his belt, Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) has been promoted to UFC heavyweight champion, and will make his first title defense against Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the Nov. 14 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York (Paramount+).
Gane has opened up as a moderate favorite over Hokit, who climbed his way to a title shot after just four UFC fights. Bisping warns the outspoken Hokit that Gane is a different level than previous opposition.
"Josh Hokit is going to wrestle Ciryl Gane – that's just a fact," Bisping said on his YouTube channel. "He has to wrestle Ciryl Gane. Ciryl Gane moves so well on the feet. That's how I knew he was going to beat
Alex Pereira. He's very, very light on the feet. He is very athletic, very explosive, and more importantly, really technical. Now, Josh Hokit goes forward, throws kind of recklessly, but because of his takedown threat, because of his speed, because of his output, because of the constant forward momentum, he catches a lot of people, but he does leave a lot of openings. So he's got to be careful. He's going to have to clean things up. He's going to have to have a tighter guard, and he's going to have to get the takedown. Now, we know the takedown defense of Ciryl Gane has improved dramatically.
"Of course, Jon Jones was able to take him down. And there's another guy that's going to be waiting in the wings maybe at Madison Square Garden. He doesn't want to let Gable Steveson go out like that. He wants to come back, reclaim some kind of honor for his team, for his camp, maybe get the winner of Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit because he's already beaten Ciryl Gane. Like I said, he took him down really quick and he choked him out. Since then, he's been working on his wrestling. He didn't go to Dagestan for two-three years. No, he just did it with his team, and he has improved. Tom Aspinall's got a beautiful double-leg takedown, and in the first round, he couldn't take down Ciryl Gane. Granted, only the first round. There were still four more rounds to play out in that fight. But what we saw against Alex Pereira was a phenomenal performance. I don't care if you talk about back of the head shots or whatever. There was one or two that got through in the middle of a mad flurry. Other than that, that performance was fantastic."
Bisping however, does acknowledge that Hokit's confidence makes him a dangerous man. Hokit put his name on the map by outlasting Curtis Blaydes in a Fight of the Year contender at UFC 327, then knocking out Derrick Lewis in the first round at UFC Freedom 250.
"It's a real challenge. It's a real struggle. It is a big mountain to climb for Josh Hokit," Bisping said. "But if you look at what Josh Hokit has done, how can you underestimate the guy? He has become a viral sensation all over social media. He's 10-0, five fights in the last year, four in the UFC, one on the Contender, three of them by way of knockout, and he's become one of the biggest names in all of the sport. He can wrestle, he was a pro footballer, he can swing, he's got the talk, he's got the confidence, he backs it up, as well. This is going to be a sensational fight card at Madison Square Garden."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst says Josh Hokit has 'big mountain to climb' against Ciryl Gane
