Daniel Cormier Wants Ciryl Gane to Defend Against Josh Hokit
Daniel Cormier used a new episode of The Daniel Cormier Show to pick the next heavyweight title fight after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt. Cormier said Ciryl Gane should be the champion and that Josh Hokit should be the first man he faces.
“Ciryl Gane should defend the heavyweight championship against Josh Hokit,” Cormier said. “That’s the fight.”
Aspinall made the vacancy official on Monday. The 33-year-old Briton said ongoing complications from eye injuries left him unable to get medically cleared, and he stepped aside so the division would not sit still. He has not finished a fight since inheriting the title from Jon Jones. His only appearance as champion ended in a no-contest against Gane at UFC 321 in October 2025 after eye pokes. He later agreed to a return date, resumed sparring, and then suffered further damage to the right eye. “I’m absolutely gutted,” Aspinall said. “I’m not done.”
Gane is the obvious next champion on paper. He stopped Alex Pereira in the second round at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 and took the interim title. That win put him first in line once Aspinall walked away. Gane is 14-2 overall and 11-2 inside the UFC. He has never held the undisputed belt after losses to Francis Ngannou and Jones and the no-contest with Aspinall. Elevation would finally give him the strap he has chased for five years.
Cormier is not arguing that Gane is the wrong champion. He is arguing that the division needs a different kind of first defense. “Ciryl Gane may be the best heavyweight in the world, but when you talk about resetting the division, you might need that brash person,” Cormier said. He knows Hokit has already come at him and that the California wrestler “annoys some” and “can be a bit much.” He still wants him in the title picture.
Hokit’s résumé is short and loud. The former Fresno State fullback and All-American wrestler is 10-0 as a professional and 4-0 in the UFC. He earned a contract on Contender Series in August 2025, then stopped Max Gimenis in 56 seconds, forced Denzel Freeman to retire in the first round, outworked Curtis Blaydes over three rounds at UFC 327, and finished Derrick Lewis by TKO in the second round on the same White House card where Gane beat Pereira. He has collected multiple post-fight bonuses and sits inside the top 10. He is also the loudest new voice in the division.
That personality is the point for Cormier. “If you’re moving on from Tom Aspinall right now, he’s walking away from the title,” Cormier said. “I believe that Josh Hokit should be some part of the next heavyweight title fight. The division needs to reset.” After Aspinall’s announcement, Hokit made the same case himself. He wrote that fans deserve him against Gane and promised to “give Ciryl what he has coming.” He added that Pereira would get a date in early 2027 if he won one fight at heavyweight. Those are Hokit’s words, not a booking.
Cormier still gave Aspinall his due. “It’s sad because Tom Aspinall is a bad man, and he has proven he is the baddest man on the planet,” he said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have him anymore.” That is the hole the UFC is trying to fill. Three straight undisputed heavyweight champions have either been stripped or have vacated. Interest in the division has followed the chaos. Cormier’s answer is a brash undefeated contender against the most skilled striker left at the top.
The matchup is not official. Pereira has already asked for a Gane rematch. Other ranked heavyweights will make their own cases. The UFC has not announced Gane’s first defense. What Cormier put on the record is a simple booking idea and a reason for it. Gane may be the best heavyweight in the world right now. Hokit, in Cormier’s view, is the fighter who can make people care about the title again while Aspinall tries to get healthy and come back.