Ciryl Gane completely ignored a vulgar insult in Arabic, "Zebi", aimed at him by Josh Hokit during their face-off in Times Square. The UFC heavyweight champion, who holds a professional record of 14-2 with one no contest, faces the unbeaten 10-0 challenger in Saturday's UFC 334 main event at Madison Square Garden. Hokit, ranked fourth in the division and nicknamed "The Incredible Hok", tried to knock the Frenchman off balance with relentless provocation and a jibe about basketball.
Gane, who was elevated from interim to undisputed champion in September, explained the exchange to Main Event TV. "It was not in French, it was an Arabic word but yeah, of course we use it a lot in France, but I'm not going to say what it means, it's a bad word, I don't want to," he said. The champion also saw straight through his opponent's psychological warfare. "He's gonna try (and get in my head) I'm pretty sure that's part of his strategy… That's not a big deal for me, I know he does it for the show, I'm pretty sure he's not a dark guy like he pretends to be. Yeah, it's his character and he does it well," Gane added. Hokit, who always enters the Octagon wearing a bandana and polarised sunglasses, has built his image on aggression and abrasive rhetoric, a persona that has even drawn the displeasure of UFC chief executive Dana White.
