Josh Hokit Says Tom Aspinall Is Faking Eye Injury to Leave UFC
Josh Hokit does not believe Tom Aspinall’s eye injury is real.
The unbeaten heavyweight said as much on The Ariel Helwani Show, accusing the former champion of manufacturing a medical story to escape his UFC contract and chase boxing money. Those comments are Hokit’s opinion. They are not a medical finding.
“I don’t even think that sh*t’s real,” Hokit said.
He went further. He claimed Aspinall’s teammates were “farting on his pillow type sh*t,” that Aspinall then “goes to sleep, gets pink eye, posts that sh*t on Instagram,” and that the surgeries were fake. Helwani asked him straight whether he believed Aspinall did not want to fight and was trying to get out of the deal.
“Yeah, I think so,” Hokit said. “I think he’s just trying to get out of his deal.”
He added that Aspinall may be chasing “that bag in boxing.” He also said Aspinall’s numbers do not match the money he is asking for and that “nobody really cares to watch him fight at the end of the day.”
That last line is Hokit’s view of the market. Aspinall was the undisputed heavyweight champion until mid-September.
The documented record is different from Hokit’s theory. Aspinall’s last fight was the first defense of his title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October 2025. The bout was ruled a no contest after repeated eye pokes left Aspinall unable to continue. He was later diagnosed with bilateral traumatic Brown’s syndrome, a rare condition that restricts eye movement, and he has described multiple surgeries, infections, and a training accident that damaged the right eye again.
On September 13 he vacated the UFC heavyweight title. “Ongoing complications with my eyes mean I cannot get medically cleared to fight right now,” he wrote. “I’ve had multiple surgeries, accidents and infections, and done everything possible to get back to competing.”
He also said he had agreed to a return date and was sparring again before the latest setback. “I’m not done,” he added. “Stepping away from the title is not stepping away from the sport.”
Gane won the interim belt by stopping Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 in June. After Aspinall vacated, Gane became the man holding the division. He is now scheduled to defend the undisputed title against Hokit in the main event of UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden.
Hokit is 10-0. The title fight is why his comments land with more heat than a random podcast jab. He is the next man in line and he is saying the previous champion’s medical file is a dodge.
Eddie Hearn has a commercial and advisory deal with Aspinall and has said he would not green-light a Gane rematch on Aspinall’s current UFC money. That boxing connection is the piece Hokit is hanging the accusation on. Interest in a crossover payday is not the same thing as proof that the eye damage was staged.
Helwani asked if any part of him felt bad for Aspinall. Hokit did not take the opening.
“That sh*t’s all fake, gang,” he said. “It’s not real.”
Aspinall has not answered the clip. Until he does, the public record still includes the no contest, the diagnosis, the surgeries he has described, the vacated belt, and a heavyweight title fight that is now Hokit’s instead of Aspinall’s.
Hokit fights Gane in November for the belt Aspinall put down. That is the part that is booked. The rest is a challenger telling the sport he thinks the last champion is acting.
