"75% Chance He Eye Pokes Him Round 1" - UFC Heavyweight Pretty Certain Ciryl Gane Will Foul Josh Hokit At UFC 334

There's just over a week left for Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit at UFC 334. The fight, set to take place at Madison Square Garden, will see the Frenchman defend his heavyweight title for the first time after he was promoted to undisputed champion (from interim) in September 2026. 

Gane has always had the alleged 'eye-poke and back-of-the-head strikes' blemish hanging over a few of his wins, with the most notable one being his recent victory over Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250, where the latter accused him of several strikes to the back of his head. 

Previously, in his title fight against Tom Aspinall, Gane's eye-poke had the Englishman writhing in pain, and the bout had to be called off, ending in a no-contest. Aspinall, to this day, hasn't fully recovered, and his comeback timeline remains unknown. 

As a result, Gane has gained notoriety for alleged illegal strikes, and now a top heavyweight has weighed in on the same.

Curtis Blaydes feels Ciryl Gane Eye Pokes Josh Hokit in First Round

In a clip posted on Instagram, captioned, "Let’s see what happens next week. The Notorious Ciryl Gane," UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes lashed out at 'Bon Gamin' for not following the rules, contrasting it with a backyard brawl fight where the fighter seemingly followed the ruleset properly. 

And, in one of the comments under the same clip, Blaydes was asked about the chances of Gane committing a foul in the Josh Hokit fight, to which he replied:

"75% chance he eye pokes him round 1."

Check out Curtis Blaydes' comment below:

Ciryl Gane Will Be Up Against Undefeated Fighter with Win vs. Blaydes

Josh Hokit is 10-0 in his MMA career. Having made his UFC debut just a year ago in November 2025, he is already 4-0 in the promotion, which includes wins over veterans Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. 

His three-round war against Blaydes at UFC 327 saw him earn both Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses, eventually putting him on the map. 

Gane, on the other hand, last fought Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250, on the same night that Hokit fought Lewis. Both the fighters earned TKO wins in the second round of their respective fights.