Hokit will challenge Ciryl Gane
for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Gane
was elevated to undisputed champion following Tom
Aspinall's relinquishment of the belt and “The Incredible Hokâ€
will be the Frenchman's first challenger.

Dana White addresses Josh Hokit ahead of his UFC 334 title
fight against Ciryl Gane

White hasn't been coy about his views on Hokit, who has drawn the
ire of the UFC CEO previously, especially for his antics before and
during
UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.

With the unbeaten heavyweight now set to headline MSG, White was
asked about the same at the UFC
331 post-fight presser.

“I got a lot of thoughts on that,†White said. “Yeah, lots and
lots. I'm sure they're the same thoughts that you're all having. I
doubt we're that different. Yeah.â€

When pressed about Hokit's controversial promotion style, White
reiterated his stance of letting fighters say whatever they want
and that he doesn't have to have a positive relationship with an
athlete for them to thrive in the promotion.

“I don't police what people say and any of that sh*t and if you
keep winning…†White added. “I say it all the time, I don't have to
like you for you to thrive here and you do well and be successful.
Many people that I do not like have done very well here. I'm not
saying I don't like Josh Hokit; I literally don't like anything
Josh Hokit says. And that's not going to change unless he changes
and I don't see that happening.â€

Van retained his title with a unanimous decision over former
champion Alexandre
Pantoja in the UFC 331 main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los
Angeles. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-47 and 50-45 for Van,
who had nothing but respect for his Brazilian counterpart after
their clash.

Joshua Van defeats Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision at
UFC 331

Their first fight ended in anticlimactic fashion last year, with
Van winning the title after an arm injury to Pantoja forced a
referee stoppage early in the first round. The former then defended
his title against Tatsuro
Taira, but questions remained over whether he's still the best
125-pounder while Pantoja recovered from his injury.

Van silenced the doubters with his performance at UFC 331, landing
significant damage while escaping most grappling entanglements. He
even attempted a submission of his own, but the former champ
managed to get out of it.

“A lot of people say that was an accident win the first time,†Van
said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Now, doubt me
now. Shout out to Pantoja. Nothing but respect for me. He’s a tough
man. He’s hard to finish. I did my submission, but I don’t know how
the hell he got out of that. I usually, with that move, I get
everybody in the gym, but I don’t know how the hell he got out of
that.â€

The duo won Fight of the Night honors for their five-round war.

Zuffa LLC

Gable Steveson had already been under the microscope prior to his UFC 331 fight against Sean Sharaf, but Dana White isn't scolding him for how he handled a shocking 12-second knockout loss.

Steveson entered the UFC as a decorated freestyle wrestling, having won Olympic gold. While his accolades were never called into question, a past involving sexual assault accusations have stuck with Steveson. Sharaf brought up the allegations during fight week, and many criticized Steveson for how he reacted to his opponent's comments.

Ultimately, Sharaf pulled off a massive upset by knocking Steveson out cold in just 12 seconds.

Rather than stay inside the Octagon as the final result was announced by Bruce Buffer, Steveson and his team made a quick exit. This drew scrutiny from the likes of UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, who was on the call during the fight. Speaking to reporters following UFC 331, White didn't exactly share that same fire (via MMAJunkie).

“Obviously, he had huge expectations on himself,†White said. “It happens. Forrest Griffin f*cking ran out of the octagon when he won the fight. These things happen.â€

As far as the upset alone is concerned, the UFC boss thinks it's another example of why no one can be counted out inside the Octagon.

“Anything is possible, man,†White said. “Anything is possible when two guys get in there and start fighting. You never know how fights are (going to go). That's why when people always ask me, ‘Oh, what do you think? Is this guy going to fight this guy after Saturday?' Let's see what happens on Saturday. I don't know. I don't know what the fight is going to look like. It's like when people say, ‘Oh, this card sucks.' The f*cking card hasn't happened yet. What do you mean it sucks? If it sucks, I'll be the first one to say it sucks.â€

How Steveson will respond to the shocker in his next outing will be a story to watch, but Sharaf is enjoying his moment in the spotlight.

What's your take on Gable Steveson failing to stick around to face the music following his UFC 331 loss? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM