From Fresno State walk-on to UFC gold: Josh Hokit fights for heavyweight title Saturday

Josh Hokit once walked onto Fresno State’s football team as a linebacker. On Saturday night, he’ll walk into Madison Square Garden with a chance to become a UFC heavyweight champion. Hokit faces Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 334 on Nov. 14, with the main card starting at 6 p.m. on Paramount+. Gane is a -218 favorite to Hokit’s +180, with odds subject to change. Hokit is 10-0 in MMA and 4-0 in the UFC. From Clovis to Fresno State Hokit’s athletic career began long before the octagon. He was a state champion wrestler at Clovis High who turned down scholarship offers from schools such as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to compete in both wrestling and football at Fresno State. He walked on as a linebacker, and when Jeff Tedford took over in 2017, he was moved to running back. By 2019, he had a three-touchdown game against UNLV. He also wrestled and became Fresno State’s first All-American wrestler in 16 years.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.