Last Saturday, it was announced that the Josh Hokit UFC fans would see him challenge for the heavyweight championship against Ciryl Gane in November. Unfortunately, this matchmaking points to the notion that beating top opponents is no longer the biggest determining factor in earning title opportunities. By making Hokit the No. 1 contender, the organization is taking a step backwards from competitive merit that should decide matchups.
The UFC gave Hokit a heavyweight title shot four fights into his tenure, making him a challenger after less than a year with the company. The issue with this is that Hokit didn’t earn this opportunity by defeating the UFC’s top heavyweights. Instead, he earned it with his antics and several obscene statements.
Hokit’s last two fights were against Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. Though these are notable heavyweights on paper, they no longer in their primes. Hokit defeated Blaydes when he was 2-2 in his last four fights. Then, Hokit knocked out Lewis when he was coming off a TKO loss to Waldo Cortes Acosta.
Although Hokit’s fights against Blaydes and Lewis were entertaining bouts, the biggest topic of discussion was the things he said after the fights were over. Following his win over Lewis at UFC Freedom 250, Hokit referred to former first lady Michelle Obama as a “man”. As one could have predicted, this statement caused much controversy, which White had to speak out against.
Someone could argue that Hokit isn’t the first fighter to talk himself into a title shot. While this is true, he does so by having one of the weaker resumes. When Conor McGregor used antics to boost his popularity to get a fight with Jose Aldo, he did so while defeating contenders along the way. McGregor held a six-fight winning streak, including a win over two-time title contender Chad Mendes before his bout with Aldo.
It’s clear that the UFC wants to have their popular fighters near the top of their numbered events, but they have to know where to draw the line. Hokit is well known for his antics, but his recent fights don’t make him the most deserving of a title opportunity. In fact, there are two heavyweights that Hokit coincidentally hasn’t faced who are more worthy of the title shot.
There are two UFC heavyweights ranked ahead of Hokit who have stronger cases for the championship opportunity. Alexander Volkov is the second-ranked heavyweight in the UFC, and he holds an impressive fight résumé. Since 2021, he has an 8-3 record, including wins over Alistair Overeem and Jailton Almeida. His three losses come from the current and previous champions, Gane and Tom Aspinall.
In Volkov’s last fight against Gane, he lost by controversial split decision. The outcome of the fight was so criticized that White apologized to Volkov after and expressed that he was robbed. With the history between Gane and Volkov, it should have been a no-brainer to repeat the matchup, but with the championship on the line.
Additionally, Volkov has commented on being passed by Hokit for the title opportunity. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, he sarcastically described that the UFC is doing Hokit favor by having him fight for the championship.
“I’m very supportive of this fight from the UFC,” said Volkov. “Josh Hokit, from what I know about him, has clearly been dealing with some mental illness, so it’s very admirable for the UFC to put a guy with a serious mental condition into a title shot”.
Another fighter that’s more worthy of a contender than Hokit is the current third-ranked heavyweight, Sergei Pavlovich. After losing back-to-back fights against Volkov and Aspinall, Pavlovich has bounced back with a three-fight winning streak. In his last fight, he knocked out Tallison Teixeira 39 seconds into the first round.
With his recent resurgence, Pavlovich also possesses unique finishing ability. Throughout his UFC career, he has earned eight first-round victories. This would have made for an intriguing matchup against Gane, as both fighters have striking skills that could end the fight at any moment.
The UFC offering Hokit a title shot over two fighters with stronger cases could set a dangerous precedent for the future. If the organization begins to prioritize popularity over fighters defeating stiff competition, it could undermine the standards set decades ago. Regardless, the fight between Gane and Hokit is scheduled to headline UFC 334, so now is the time for Hokit to prove that he can fight among the elite.
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