Former champion Tom Aspinall has not fought since his UFC heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane finished in a no contest in Oct. 2025. Aspinall was unable to continue after Gane poked him in both eyes in the first round. Recently, Aspinall vacated the championship as further complications popped up with his right eye. On the verge of returning several times, Aspinall was unable to come back due to his eye issues and relinquished the title.

However, controversial UFC fighter Josh Hokit believes Aspinall is faking the injury in an attempt to leave the UFC. According to Hokit, Aspinall is blowing his eye injury out of proportion. The undefeated American implied that Aspinall is seeking an exit from his UFC contract. He further guessed that Aspinall might be aiming for a more lucrative switch to boxing.

“Honestly, I don’t even think that shit’s real. I think he has his teammates farting on his pillow, then he goes to sleep, gets pink eye, posts that shit on Instagram like, ‘Hey, everybody feel bad for me. I can’t fight still.’

“He has fake surgery, all that other s**t. I think he’s just trying to get out of his deal, if I’m being 100% honest. It’s all fake, gang. It’s not real. I don’t know if he’s paying doctors, but I think he’s trying to get that bag in boxing,” Hokit said while speaking to Ariel Helwani.

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After Aspinall vacated his title, Gane was made the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Gane is now scheduled to defend his title against Hokit at UFC 334 on Nov. 14, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York.