Sean O’Malley picked chaos, and I respect it.
The former UFC bantamweight champion went on his YouTube channel this week and threw his support behind Josh Hokit, the undefeated heavyweight challenger who meets champion Ciryl Gane in the UFC 334 main event on Saturday, November 14. His reasoning had nothing to do with Gane’s footwork or Hokit’s gas tank. O’Malley wants the guy who has spent the last year poking every bear in the zoo to walk out with the belt, mostly because of what that would do to the promotion.
“I want to see Josh Hokit win so bad,” O’Malley said. He added that he’s a big fan of Gane and loves his style, especially the way Gane can move like that at heavyweight, but he still wants Hokit to win so the challenger can keep the character going and be an absolute menace to the UFC.
That is a fight fan talking, and he’s right.
The Case for the Menace
Look at what Hokit has done to get here. He’s unbeaten. He beat Derrick Lewis on the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House back in June, which would be enough of a résumé line for most guys to coast on for a year. Instead he used the post-fight spotlight to claim former First Lady Michelle Obama was a man, a comment that grabbed national attention and, frankly, was the cheapest shock bit available to him. Then he dropped a diss track aimed at several of the top heavyweights in the UFC. He’s taken heat from other fighters. He’s even taken heat from Bruce Buffer, and when the guy whose entire job is making you sound like a legend starts publicly side-eyeing you, you’ve achieved some kind of heel status that most fighters never touch.
Some of that material is lazy. The Obama line was a guy reaching for the easiest button on the board. But the larger point O’Malley is making holds up. Heavyweight works best with a lightning rod at the top. Fans tune in to see somebody get shut up, or to see the somebody who refuses to shut up keep winning anyway. A Hokit title reign means every heavyweight on the roster has a reason to want the fight, every press conference has a chance to go sideways, and every face-off comes with real tension instead of two polite giants nodding at each other.
O’Malley understands this better than almost anybody. He built a career on calling his shot and dyeing his hair like a highlighter, and the louder he got, the bigger the gates got. He knows what a character is worth. When he says he wants Hokit to keep the character going, he’s speaking as someone who’s been that character. That carries weight.
The Part O’Malley Got Even More Right
The smartest thing O’Malley said came after the cheerleading. He didn’t pretend this was a coin flip. He acknowledged that Gane is the bigger and stronger fighter of the two, with far more high-profile fight experience, and he admitted that beating the Frenchman will be no easy job.
“I want to see Josh win, but I am pretty nervous,” he said.
I love that honesty, because it’s the correct read. O’Malley himself called Gane a fighter he’s a big fan of, someone who moves in a way that makes no sense for a heavyweight. Gane has the belt and he has the big-fight experience. Hokit has the undefeated record, the Lewis win and a microphone he refuses to put down. Those aren’t equal assets inside the cage.
So here’s my argument. Root for Hokit the way O’Malley roots for Hokit: with your heart, and with one eye covered. The heavyweight division would get a lot more fun with him holding the strap, and the UFC would get a villain it didn’t have to manufacture in a press release. Hokit made himself polarizing all on his own, which beats any staged beef that falls apart the second two guys stand nose to nose.
But the burden is entirely on Hokit. Talk is free. The diss track was free. Telling the world you’re coming for the top guys is free. Saturday is the first time all of that costs something, and he’s paying it against the most experienced, most decorated opponent of his career, at least by O’Malley’s account. If he loses, the character takes a hit, and every fighter and announcer who criticized him gets a free victory lap. If he wins, the heavyweight division turns into a reality show overnight, and O’Malley gets to say he called the vibe even if he didn’t call the fight.
That’s the bet. One former champion with a famous instinct for drama is all in on the drama, and nervous about the fight. Both of those are the right reaction.
Gane vs. Hokit headlines UFC 334 on Saturday, November 14. If the menace wins, clear your schedule for the press conference.
