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Former UFC star Sam Alvey is desperate for Josh Hokit to beat Ciryl Gane for the sanctity of the sport tomorrow night.
After an eight-fight skid saw him exit the UFC in 2022, Alvey has had one of combat sports’ greatest ever resurgences. He rose to Karate Combat heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion with wins over the likes of Tyrone Spong and Uriah Hall, and now moves over to BKFC on December 4.
He will face Jonathan Miller in Hershey, Pennsylvania to kickstart a drive towards the new ‘Ironweight’ title. But before that, he will cast his eye over Saturday night’s big UFC heavyweight title fight between Gane and Hokit.
The build-up to UFC 334 has seen Josh Hokit, the fast-rising perennial heel, turn into something of a fan favorite opposite Ciryl Gane. Many feel the Frenchman hasn’t legitimately earned his latest title fight given the controversy surrounding his fights with Tom Aspinall and Alex Pereira.
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“I want Hokit to win so badly,” Sam Alvey told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat. “I hope he goes out there and shoots just immediately. My brain tells me it’s going to be Gane just because he is so big and he’s a good, dynamic striker.
“Then I look at how he under-performed against Jon Jones and I don’t know that it was an under-performance. I think he just sucks at wrestling, so my official prediction is going to be Hokit in Round Two by either sub or TKO but probably sub.
“It’s not a tough game plan, wrestle the kickboxer – I could have come up with that!”
Gane infamously forced Tom Aspinall out for over a year with eye pokes in their UFC 321 title fight that led to a No Contest. Despite that infraction, he was afforded a shot at the interim belt on the White House lawn for UFC Freedom 250.
Let us know in the comments what you made of their short first encounter.
There, he viciously knocked out Alex Pereira, but appeared to land a number of illegal shots to the back of the head during his finishing sequence. This irked Alvey, who believes he didn’t legitimately win the interim belt before being elevated to undisputed.
“He’s a dirty cheater!” Alvey continued. “Jon Jones is a cheater, Gane is a cheater, it’s eye-poke, eye-poke, elbow [to the back of the head]. It’s ridiculous and how these guys keep getting rewarded with championships is baffling.”