Fernand Lopez Breaks Down Josh Hokit Ahead of UFC 334

Fernand Lopez, head coach of MMA Factory, is counting down the days before UFC 334 on Nov. 14. The Madison Square Garden event features one of Lopez' pupils inside the fabled Octagon as current UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane (14-2, 1 NC MMA, 11-2, 1 NC UFC) makes his first defense of the title since being elevated from interim champion.

On the other side of the cage that November Saturday night in New York City will be challenger and No. 4 contender Josh Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC.) Hokit will be coming in off of a June 14 win during UFC Freedom 250 against Derrick Lewis inside the second round.

With less than four weeks remaining until the bout in New York City, Fernand Lopez has been busy putting together a gameplan for Ciryl Gane ahead of UFC 334. Recently, Lopez sat down with Farrah Hannoun of USA Today's MMA Junkie to talk about the upcoming fight. 

Fernand Lopez Shares Initial Thoughts on Fighting Josh Hokit at UFC 334, Muddled Picture at Heavyweight

To begin the interview with Farrah Hannoun, Fernand Lopez discussed what it was like to find out that Ciryl Gane would be versing Josh Hokit in his pupil's first contest since assuming the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

"We're happy to fight anyone, anyway," Fernand Lopez began. "We just had to talk about the condition, making sure that we get the compensation according to the challenge, and then we said yes."

Ciryl Gane initially won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship with a second-round knockout on June 14 of Alex Pereira during UFC Freedom 250 on The White House grounds. Subsequent to that win, Gane was elevated to permanent champion upon former titleholder Tom Aspinall vacating the championship due to medical issues stemming from an eye poke he suffered last year in UFC 321. Lopez discussed the challenges surrounding the uncertainty at heavyweight.

"That was difficult," he continued. "As soon as we finished, what we did is keep pushing. We felt if we don't have the fight and he's not able to come back, we'll keep pushing."

Fernand Lopez Turns Back Clock One Year to UFC 321

This coming Sunday marks one year since Tom Aspinall suffered the eye poke which resulted in his and Ciryl Gane's bout at UFC 321 ending a no-contest after less than a full round of action. Lopez looked back on that aborted title fight with Hannoun.

"I was disappointed," he recalls. "I think the one who was most disappointed was our fighter. Obviously, Tom was disappointed. I think that he's a fighter and he wanted to go to the end. Ciryl was disappointed and so was the team, also."

Fernand Lopez Likens Josh Hokit to UFC Luminary Ahead of UFC 334

Josh Hokit enters UFC 334 on Nov. 14 with an undefeated 10-0 record in professional MMA. Since joining the UFC's active roster by way of DWCS in August of 2025, he's gone 4-0.

Three of Hokit's four UFC wins have been recorded inside the distance, with the lone victory by way of decision happening in April of this year. That night, during UFC 327 in Miami, he bested Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision after 15 minutes of action, with Josh Hokit being added to UFC Freedom 250 not long after his Miami fight ended back in the spring. 

During Fernand Lopez's interview with Farrah Hannoun, he discussed the similarities between Josh Hokit and another former UFC Heavyweight Champion.

"He's not just another heavyweight coming forward to punch people," he said of Josh Hokit. "Besides Cain Velasquez, for a long time, we didn't have a wrestler that can punch you, make you guess, go for the wrestling, if it's not working, go back to try and knock you down. He's not just relying on wrestling."