Dana White admits personal bias may have slowed unbeaten Hokit's path to UFC heavyweight title

Dana White has admitted he may have made Josh Hokit’s road to a UFC heavyweight title shot harder than it needed to be, revealing on The Jim Rome Show that personal dislike of some of Hokit’s comments influenced his matchmaking decisions.

Hokit (10-0) will now challenge champion Ciryl Gane (14-2) in the main event of UFC 334 on 14 November at Madison Square Garden in New York — a fight White says was always the right one to make.

“Hokit has been overlooked the entire time, not only by the fans and media, but by me,” White said. “I didn’t like some of the things he said, so I might have threw some tough guys at him, and he passed every test, and here he is.”

The admission is a notable one from the UFC’s chief executive, who rarely acknowledges that personal feelings play any role in how contenders are matched. In Hokit’s case, the tougher road appears only to have strengthened his credentials.

“The Incredible Hok” has gone 3-0 in 2026, building his case fight by fight. He defeated Denzel Freeman before outpointing Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision at UFC 327 in April. He then stopped former title challenger Derrick Lewis with a second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250 in June — a result that left little room for debate.

White ultimately conceded that no amount of personal friction could obscure what Hokit had achieved inside the octagon.

“Like him or hate him, he fought his way to the top, and there’s no denying that this guy deserves this title shot and belongs there,” White added.

Gane, the reigning heavyweight champion at 14-2, now faces a mandatory test against a contender who has been hardened, perhaps intentionally, by one of the most demanding paths to a title shot in recent UFC heavyweight history.