Ciryl Gane will defend the UFC heavyweight championship this weekend at UFC 334 – and you can bet Josh Hokit will give him a whole lot to think about from start to finish.
Between underwhelming performances, alleged cheating and controversial decisions, Ciryl Gane has faced a lot of criticism over the years. There’s no denying that he is a talented fighter, but in order to cement himself as a real champion in the heavyweight division, he needs to overcome a tough test in the form of Josh Hokit.
Ciryl Gane has been able to turn on the style many times before, most recently against Alex Pereira. Hokit, though, is a complete enigma, and there are a lot of people out there picking him to be holding the gold when the night draws to a close in New York City.
In a recent interview, Rashad Evans gave his thoughts on Ciryl Gane’s chances against Hokit.
Rashad Evans analyzes Ciryl Gane’s big moment at UFC 334
“This is a huge test for him,” Evans told MMA Junkie. “He’s got a chance to right the wrongs, in a sense, and show that he has the ability to handle a high-level wrestler, somebody that can implement their wrestling game. That was probably really the only big question in his game after what we’ve seen with Jon Jones. Can he handle a high-pressure wrestler, somebody that’s going to put him down?
“Does he have the understanding to deal with it on the ground? Because you can lose and get caught in any kind of way, but what really took away people’s perception of him being as good as he is, was how novice he was on the ground in that moment.
“When you see somebody at that level just not being able to do the thing that you would think they would know how to do in the position like Jon had him in, it’s like, ‘Damn, well he wasn’t that good anyway.’ That’s where that came from.
“Ciryl, in all fairness, he’s been learning on the job a lot. And learning on the job is sometimes embarrassing because you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s all about once you do know, what do you do? This is going to be that test.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
It’s safe to say that there will be a whole lot of eyes on the Frenchman on Saturday night.
