Josh Hokit could walk out of UFC 334 as undisputed heavyweight champion, which could line him up for a marquee matchup with Tom Aspinall. Assuming Aspinall ever steps into the octagon again.<\/p>\n
When Hokit and Ciryl Gane face off in Saturday\u2019s main event at Madison Square Garden in New York, it will have been over a year since Aspinall\u2019s disastrous title defense against Gane. That fight ended in a no-contest due to Gane accidentally poking Aspinall\u2019s eyes, leaving Aspinall with an ongoing recovery from injury that has kept him sidelined indefinitely.<\/p>\n
In Aspinall\u2019s absence, Gane defeated Alex Pereira at UFC White House to claim an interim title and was later promoted to undisputed champion. Hokit was asked whether he expects to fight Aspinall in the near future if he defeats Gane at UFC 334.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m champion, anybody can get a fight,\u201d Hokit said at Wednesday\u2019s media day. \u201cAnybody\u2019s going to be able to get a fight. I\u2019m not going to hold the belt and be sidelined. Anybody can get it. We\u2019ll see if Aspinall comes back, and we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he wants to come back. You signed with Eddie Hearn, Dana [White\u2019s] archnemesis. To me, that\u2019s like you\u2019re just trying to get to the money, get a money fight in in boxing. So we\u2019ll see if they give him a price to work with in the UFC, but, I mean, Tom Aspinall wearing glasses, I\u2019m whooping asses, entertaining the masses, in the meantime. So yeah, if it makes sense, anybody can get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The undefeated Hokit has had an unexpected rise to the top. This time last year, in the aftermath of the Aspinall-Gane debacle, Hokit was preparing to make his UFC debut against Max Gimenis. Four fights and four wins later, including a Fight of the Year contender performance against Curtis Blaydes, Hokit has the chance to make history.<\/p>\n
In his eyes, claiming the heavyweight title isn\u2019t only what\u2019s best for him, it\u2019s what best for business in a division that has lost its luster in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it would mean that Gotham is saved,\u201d Hokit said. \u201cThe heavyweight division is saved. The future is born, the past will be put in a casket. That\u2019s what I think. I don\u2019t know if the heavyweight division has been cursed for these amount of years, but they haven\u2019t had an active champion in a while, and so I\u2019m here to give them that.\u201d<\/p>\n