Josh Hokit goes off on Alex Pereira asking for Ciryl Gane rematch: ‘I watched you get demolished’

Rising UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit launched a pointed social-media assault on former two-division champion Alex Pereira after the latter campaigned for a rematch with Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title.

Hokit, who knocked out Derrick Lewis at UFC White House in June, took particular issue with the notion that Pereira—or Ilia Topuria—should earn immediate title shots after both were decisively finished at that same event. Pereira fell to Gane while Topuria lost to Justin Gaethje on the card.

In a series of X posts, Hokit argued the rematches made "no fucking sense" and called on the UFC to enforce standard rankings logic. He suggested Pereira first fight Sergei Pavlovich, a heavy-handed striker Hokit characterized as less athletic than Gane, before earning another title opportunity. "Make them earn it and fight their way back like everyone else," Hokit wrote, emphasizing that both finishees should climb back through the ranks rather than leap straight into title contention.

Hokit also leveled criticism at Tom Aspinall's manager Eddie Hearn, alleging deliberate stalling in contract negotiations to delay Aspinall's unification bout with Gane. The heavyweight proposed an alternative: book himself against Gane at an upcoming UFC card at Madison Square Garden in November, while Pereira faces Pavlovich on the same show.

While Hokit expressed confidence he could beat Pereira in a fight—offering to do so in a parking lot or at press conferences—he emphasized the financial reality of MMA contracts. Title shots pay substantially more than regular bouts, he noted, making a championship opportunity the logical next step. Hokit's public campaign underscores the competitive tension atop the heavyweight division and the politics that often govern title-shot allocation in the UFC.