Josh Hokit targets Ciryl Gane for heavyweight title after Aspinall relinquishes belt

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Josh Hokit | (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Josh Hokit believes he deserves the next UFC heavyweight title shot. On Monday, UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall vacated his title after suffering a setback in his recovery from his eye injuries stemming from the eye pokes made by Ciryl Gane in their title fight at UFC 321. As such, interim champion Ciryl Gane — who claimed the interim title with a win over Alex Pereira at UFC White House this summer — is now the undisputed champion, and ostensibly will be booked for his first title defense sometime soon. But against who? Since his loss to Gane, Pereira has been lobbying for a rematch, in part due to Gane’s alleged foul play in that fight, but so has rising contender Josh Hokit, who made his case for the next title shot shortly after Aspinall made his announcement. The fans deserve Me vs Gane. I’ll give Ciryl what he has coming. If Alex can win 1 fight in my weight class, I’ll give it to him too, early ‘27. I’ll be the most active champ in the company. https://t.co/fdtRFTL2G8 — The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC) September 14, 2026 “The fans deserve Me vs Gane. I’ll give Ciryl what he has coming. “If Alex can win 1 fight in my weight class, I’ll give it to him too, early ‘27. “I’ll be the most active champ in the company.” Hokit burst onto the MMA scene last year after earning a UFC contract through Contender Series. Since then, “The Incredible Hok” has won four fights in the promotion, with three coming by stoppage, earning four post-fight bonuses, as well. Hokit has also become one of the most outspoken fighters on the roster, regularly trolling other fighters, to the point that he was removed from the pre-fight UFC White House press conference for his antics. Most recently, Hokit finished Derrick Lewis at UFC White House.

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Josh Hokit has called his shot following news of Tom Aspinall’s relinquishing of the UFC heavyweight title. Aspinall has been injured since last October when he suffered a brutal double eye poke from Ciryl Gane during their title fight. It was expected that the British champ would be able to return at the end of […]