Unbeaten Hokit demands Aspinall be stripped for stalling UFC heavyweight division

Josh Hokit has called for Tom Aspinall to be stripped of the UFC heavyweight championship, accusing the unbeaten Englishman of using his eye injury as a stalling tactic while the division waits for his return.

Aspinall (15-3) has not competed since his first title defence against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest following a double eye poke at UFC 320 last October. With Aspinall sidelined, Gane (13-2) is now scheduled to meet Alex Pereira (13-3) for an interim heavyweight title at UFC White House: Freedom 250 on June 14 — a bout Hokit believes should be contested for the undisputed belt.

“To get the division moving again, Pereira and Gane should be for the heavyweight championship,” Hokit told UFC on Paramount+. “You got [Tom Aspinall] claiming that he’s blind now. Saying that he can’t practice, he can’t even drive. Then all of a sudden he’s saying he’s going to come back. Just choose one or the other at this point. I think the division is being held up with his theatrics or whatever he’s doing, his tactics.”

Hokit (9-0) is himself booked on the same card, facing veteran Derrick Lewis (29-13) in a heavyweight contest. The unbeaten contender has already publicly targeted Pereira, and made clear he intends to pursue a fight with the Brazilian should he beat Lewis and Pereira emerge from June 14 as champion.

Aspinall has acknowledged the severity of his eye injury, stating it has left him unable to drive, though he has also indicated a desire to return to competition. That apparent contradiction is precisely what Hokit is seizing on, framing the champion’s situation as deliberate ambiguity rather than genuine medical uncertainty.

Whether the UFC acts on calls to strip Aspinall remains to be seen, but the pressure on the promotion to resolve its heavyweight picture is growing — particularly with a high-profile interim title fight now weeks away.