Josh
Hokit has made a name for himself in a short time in the UFC. |
Getty/UFC
Josh
Hokit will be swimming in deep waters in his next Octagon
apppearance.
The undefeated heavyweight prospect will lock horns with perennial
contender Curtis
Blaydes at UFC 327
in Miami, the promotion announced Tuesday. A handful of other bouts
— some previously reported — were also confirmed for the April 11
event: Kevin
Holland vs. Randy Brown
at welterweight; Paulo Costa
vs. Azamat
Murzakanov at heavyweight and Dominick
Reyes vs. Johnny
Walker at light heavyweight.
UFC 327 takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami and features
flyweight title tilt pitting Joshua Van
against Tatsuro
Taira. It is currently unclear if Van vs. Taira will be the
evening’s main event. The entirety of the card airs on
Paramount+.
A Gap in Experience
Hokit is undefeated in eight professional outings and has finished
all of his opponents inside the distance. After earning a contract
on
Dana White’s Contender Series this past August, “The Incredible
Hok” has kicked off his
UFC tenure with first-round stoppages of Max Gimenis
and Denzel
Freeman. In addition to his penchant for quick finishes, Hokit
has made a name for himself thanks to his pro wrestling persona in
interviews.
Blaydes represents a significant step up from the likes of Gimenis
and Freeman, however. The 35-year-old Illinois native is 14-5 with
one no contest since making his Octagon debut in 2016. He owns
notable wins against the likes of Mark Hunt,
Alistair
Overeem, Junior dos
Santos, Alexander
Volkov, Jairzinho
Rozenstruik, Tom
Aspinall (via injury) and Jailton
Almeida. Most recently, Blaydes took a split verdict over
Rizvan
Kuniev at UFC Baku in June.