Josh Hokit wasted little time throwing shade at undisputed champion Ciryl Gane ahead of their heavyweight title fight at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 14.
"I don't think he deserves an undisputed title," Hokit said Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "It's better for me, because when I beat him, I'm gonna be undisputed. But I don't think you should reward someone for cheating."
He added: "It's setting me up perfectly, because when I beat the f--k out of him, I'm undisputed."
Gane captured the interim belt for the second time after defeating Alex Pereira via second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250 in June. He was recently elevated to undisputed champion after former undisputed champ Tom Aspinall vacated his belt due to lingering eye issues sustained in a fight against Gane in October 2025.
Meanwhile, Hokit dominated Derrick Lewis at the UFC White House event to improve to 10-0 in his professional MMA career.
Hokit also questioned the legitimacy of Aspinall's eye injury, despite his nearly year-long absence.
"I don't even think that shit's real," Hokit said. "He has his teammates farting on his pillow type shit, then he goes to sleep, gets pink eye, posts that shit on Instagram, 'Hey, everybody feel bad for me. I can't fight still.'
"He has fake surgery, all that other shit. I think he's just trying to get out of his (UFC) deal, if I'm being honest."
Hokit, 28, has earned four UFC victories in less than a year, dating back to November 2025.
