Chris Weidman is siding with the betting underdog in the UFC 334 main event.
Newly promoted UFC heavyweight champion Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) makes his first title defense against Josh Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York (Paramount+).
Even though Hokit is a sizable underdog, Weidman thinks he's a bad stylistic matchup for Gane.
"If you watch Hokit, some of his fights before the Curtis Blaydes fight, I've seen him ragdoll people like Cain Velasquez did back in the day," Weidman said on "Deep Waters." "Just non-stop punches from the back, just riding them, rag-dolling them around. He has the potential of rag-dolling Ciryl Gane, for sure, Cain Velasquez style."
While this is a bold claim by Weidman, the former
UFC middleweight champion pointed to Gane's only two octagon losses where he was outmatched on the ground by Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones. He sees Hokit overwhelming Gane.
"We've seen Gane get taken down and get beat up by Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones with the guillotine," Weidman added. "I think I'd go Hokit only because I think the style of Gane, the being light on your feet and stuff, I think that takes a lot of cardio. Like the 'Wonderboy' (Thompson)-type style.
"It's very taxing on the body to be that light on your feet, and I think a guy like Hokit, who's non-stop pressuring, eventually will start winning exchanges and getting the takedowns. I think he wears on Gane. No disrespect to Gane because I think the guy is unbelievable, but I think Hokit is just a tough matchup."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst: Josh Hokit can beat Ciryl Gane, 'for sure, Cain Velasquez style'
