Hokit demands Gane title fight as Aspinall vacates UFC heavyweight belt due to eye injury

Josh Hokit is targeting a title unification fight against interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt, with ongoing eye-related complications having prevented Aspinall from receiving medical clearance to return to the Octagon.

Hokit wasted little time staking his claim. Shortly after Aspinall’s announcement, the fighter known as “The Incredible Hok” took to X to make his case directly to the public. “The fans deserve Me vs Gane,” Hokit wrote. “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’s call-out carries some weight given his recent form. At UFC Freedom 250, he knocked out Derrick Lewis in a performance that ran alongside Gane’s own stoppage victory over Alex Pereira to claim the interim heavyweight title at the same event. The two men are now the most prominent names in a division suddenly without an undisputed champion.

The picture is further complicated by Pereira, who has also set his sights on Gane. “Poatan” campaigned on Instagram for a rematch with the Frenchman, arguing that illegal shots to the back of his head were a decisive factor in the finishing sequence of their UFC Freedom 250 clash. “I think the fight that makes sense is Ciryl Gane,” Pereira said. “That’s the fight, I’m gonna work on that. And from what I’m seeing, it’s something that’s going to happen.”

With Aspinall’s departure leaving the heavyweight throne formally vacant, the UFC now faces a crowded queue of contenders. Hokit’s knockout of Lewis and his immediate public campaign place him firmly in the conversation, but Pereira’s star power and his own claim of a controversial finish ensure the path to a title fight for Gane will not be straightforward.