Josh Hokit Goes After Aspinall, Topuria, and Gane Ahead of UFC 334 Title Shot
The unranked heavyweight challenger says Aspinall faked his eye injury, tells Topuria he would wipe him off the earth, and threatens Gane.
Josh Hokit has a heavyweight title fight booked for November and he is picking fights with everyone in the meantime.
The unranked challenger, who faces Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight championship at UFC 334 on November 14 in New York City, went on a media tear this week that left no one in the division untouched.
Hokit accused former champion Tom Aspinall of faking the eye injury that led to his departure from the UFC. "I think he's just trying to get out of his deal. That sh*t's all fake," Hokit told LowKick MMA. He went further with crude suggestions about the origin of Aspinall's condition.
He then turned his attention to featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, who had apparently been talking across weight classes. "I'm a heavyweight and I'm about to be a heavyweight champion. What is a 145-pound champion talking to a heavyweight like that for?" Hokit said. "I wipe you off the face of the earth."
As for his actual opponent, Hokit kept the same energy. "If you poke me in the eye, I'll poke you in the eye back," he said of Gane, per LowKick MMA. "You hit me in the back of the head, I'll rip your goddamn throat out." He also disputed Gane's claim to the title, suggesting that beating the Frenchman would make him the true undisputed champion.
Hokit also responded to Dana White's recent comments about his unlikely path to a title shot. White had expressed skepticism about Hokit's chances, and the challenger did not take kindly to it.
The heavyweight division has been in flux since Aspinall vacated and Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist once seen as a future contender, suffered a shocking knockout loss at UFC 331 after reportedly not sparring or training properly in camp. Hokit has stepped into the chaos and made himself impossible to ignore.
I have been covering combat sports long enough to know that most trash talk is calculated. Josh Hokit's is not. This dude genuinely does not care who he offends, and at heavyweight, that kind of recklessness is either going to make him a star or get him knocked into next week.
Calling Aspinall's eye injury fake is a bold accusation with zero evidence, and it is the kind of thing that could age very poorly. But Hokit is not trying to win a debate. He is trying to get in everyone's head before the biggest fight of his life.
The reality is that Hokit has no business being in a title fight on paper. He is unranked. The division fell apart around him and he walked through the door. But that does not mean he cannot fight. He hits like a truck and he has the kind of confidence that either carries you to the belt or gets exposed on the biggest stage. November 14 at MSG is going to answer every question about Josh Hokit one way or another.
