Josh Hokit on The Ariel Helwani Show: 'No line' with Ciryl Gane, vows to answer eye pokes at UFC 334

Unbeaten heavyweight Josh Hokit made his first in-studio appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday, November 10, four days before he challenges Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title in the UFC 334 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. Hokit said there is "no line" he will not cross in the build-up, promised to answer any eye poke with a foul of his own, and said he already has a specific heavyweight in mind to call out if he wins.

Helwani's show posted several clips from the interview on X on Tuesday evening. The quotes below come from those clips.

'We're at war, and anything goes'

Asked whether he has something special planned for Gane on the biggest stage of his career, Hokit said trash talk is part of the job. "If I'm putting the entertainment cap on, I owe it to the fans to do that," he said.

"I believe all things are fair when it comes to war," Hokit continued. "He signed the contract, we're at war, and anything goes. There's no line. No line. He mentioned his mom, you saw that clip. F*** him and his mom. It is what it is. If we were in a different day and age, that's how it'd be."

The mom line was a response to Gane. Speaking to RMC Sport Combat earlier in fight week, the French champion said Hokit's act does not get to him, and according to The Sun he said Hokit could "insult my mom, but you don't know my mom." Gane also told RMC that Hokit had sent him private messages claiming he would beat him at basketball and in MMA, Bloody Elbow reported.

Eye pokes and the game plan

Gane's fouls have been the running theme of the build-up. His title fight with Tom Aspinall at UFC 321 in October 2025 ended in a no contest after an eye poke, and Hokit has already mocked the issue by getting pepper sprayed in training. On Helwani's show he said he will not complain to the referee.

"If he pokes my eye, I'm gonna hit him in the back of the head," Hokit said, before escalating the bit further and then adding, "That obviously won't happen." He went on: "Am I gonna be telling the ref, 'Watch out for the eye poke'? It's all part of the fight. If he pokes me in the eye, I'm fighting like that. I don't care."

On the fight itself, Hokit said he plans to push the pace. "I'm gonna pressure him, and he only has a few options after that, whether he overextends or he cowers away and tries to run," he said. "He cannot run forever. I feel like I get my hands on him one way or the other, and then wear him out. Make him look like any other sloppy heavyweight."

A callout already picked

Helwani pressed Hokit on who he would call out with a win. Hokit said he has "a name in mind" and confirmed the fighter is currently in the heavyweight division, but refused to reveal it. Alex Pereira and Johnny Walker came up in the conversation, and Hokit made it clear he does not expect Aspinall to return.

Still living in the dorms

Hokit also explained why he still lives in the dorms at Jackson Wink in Albuquerque during camps, even though he has bought a house in California. "There's something about a cockroach crawling across the floor, a crackhead outside keeping you up at night," he said. "It reminds you of how it all started." He added that he is "not gonna play it safe" with his persona: "When I'm on my deathbed, I'm gonna look back and I'm gonna regret that I didn't go harder."

UFC 334 details

• Main event: Ciryl Gane (14-2) vs Josh Hokit (10-0) for the UFC heavyweight title, Gane's first defense of the undisputed belt.
• Co-main event: Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes for the women's bantamweight title.
• Date and venue: Saturday, November 14, Madison Square Garden, New York.