Unbeaten Hokit demands Herb Dean refs his potential clash with Gane amid illegal-shots row

Undefeated heavyweight Josh Hokit has publicly lobbied for Herb Dean to officiate a potential future fight between himself and Ciryl Gane, turning the ongoing controversy over Gane’s illegal shots into a piece of pointed self-promotion on social media.

Gane captured the UFC interim heavyweight title earlier this month at UFC White House, finishing Alex Pereira in the second round. The victory was immediately clouded by accusations that Gane landed multiple strikes to the back of Pereira’s head without Dean issuing a single warning. Pereira has since claimed he raised the issue with Dean during the pre-fight rules meeting, to no avail.

It is not the first time Gane has faced such scrutiny. His heavyweight title challenge against Tom Aspinall ended in a no-contest after a double eye poke by the Frenchman, adding to a growing perception that Gane’s finishing sequences can stray into illegal territory.

Hokit, who stands at 10-0 and has been building momentum as a legitimate contender, is apparently unconcerned. Writing on X, the fighter known as “The Incredible Hok” turned the controversy into a boast about his own toughness. “The Incredible Hok’s eyes would break Ciryl Gane’s fingers and the back of my head would shatter his elbow. I insist that Herb ref our fight,” Hokit wrote.

The post frames Dean’s permissive officiating not as a threat but as an irrelevance — Hokit’s implication being that Gane’s illegal shots simply would not work on him. It is a calculated piece of trash talk that simultaneously keeps Hokit’s name in the heavyweight conversation and piles further pressure on both Gane’s reputation and Dean’s standing as a referee.

Hokit did not stop there. In a broader run of posts on the same day, he also took aim at Aspinall, mocking the British champion with a joke about a shirt that “only came in size COWARD,” and teased a future Madison Square Garden appearance where he suggested he would face Pereira in November.

None of the matchups Hokit referenced have been officially confirmed by the UFC, but the 10-0 record and the volume of noise he is generating ensure his name will be difficult to ignore in the heavyweight division.