Josh Hokit turns up the heat on Tom Aspinall

Josh Hokit wants Tom Aspinall stripped and is pushing for a fight with Ciryl Gane

Josh Hokit is once again stirring up trouble in the heavyweight division, and this time Tom Aspinall is bearing the brunt of the criticism. Josh Hokit posted a four-part message on X calling on the UFC to strip Tom Aspinall of his title or fire him. At the same time, he’s calling for a bout with Ciryl Gane, a matchup that could shake things up once again.

The timing is no coincidence either. Tom Aspinall suffered an eye injury at UFC 321 and has been sidelined ever since. Ciryl Gane went on to defeat Alex Pereira and secure the interim heavyweight title. Josh Hokit is now sitting pretty with a 10-0 record and currently ranks No. 4 in the rankings.

That’s why it makes so much sense for Josh Hokit to shake things up a bit in the division now.

“The HW division needs a champ who actually wants to fight, not another injury prone holdout. Plus I will completely reset the HWT storyline. And I ain’t dodging @AlexPereiraUFC , he’s great for business and stays active. But why destroy Poatan right after the Gane dismantling? Let’s build that fight and get his aura back first. I want his aura for myself!”

he wrote in the second of his four posts.

Josh Hokit also called for a fight with Ciryl Gane. This would make sense, since they’ve been on the same page ever since UFC 250. The only problem is that Josh Hokit is trying to fight for the title, which probably won’t happen. As for Tom Aspinall, there’s still no news. Tom Aspinall should speak up again soon, though, or else the criticism and pressure on the UFC will just keep mounting, and who knows what might happen then.

No matter how much pressure is ultimately applied, I can't imagine they'll take the title from Tom Aspinall away. Josh Hokit is just taking advantage of the situation right now to secure a high-profile fight for himself. I think he'll get that fight, but not what he's actually demanding.