Tom Aspinall has been carrying real anger since the eye poke incident at UFC 321, and a recently resurfaced clip has confirmed just how different the version of him heading into the Ciryl Gane rematch is going to be. Josh Hokit, never one to stay out of anyone’s business, has already made his move.
Why Tom Aspinall Is Done Being Nice
The clip making rounds is Tom Aspinall at his most raw. After suffering double eye pokes against Ciryl Gane that ended his first undisputed title defense in a no-contest, then undergoing surgery on both eyes, spending 108 days unable to drive, attending 18 specialist appointments, and watching sections of the fanbase call him a quitter and accuse him of faking the injury, Aspinall’s patience ran out completely.
Dana White’s failure to reach out to him personally during that entire ordeal added another layer to the frustration. The result was a version of Aspinall that the sport has not seen before. The Brit said:
“When I come back, there is no more Mr. Nice Guy. Nice Tom, when it comes to MMA, it’s gone. I’m going full bad guy.”
Josh Hokit Immediately Made It About Himself
Josh Hokit’s response was exactly what you would expect from a man who has spent the weeks since UFC Freedom 250 trolling Alex Pereira and threatening to fight anyone with a pulse.
He reposted Aspinall’s exact words back at him on X, essentially holding a mirror up to the heavyweight champion and saying he got there first. ‘The Incredible Hok’ wrote:
“Nice try. There can only be one bad guy, Mr Pink Eye.”
Two Bad Guys, One Division
The heavyweight division now has Tom Aspinall shedding the nice guy image, Josh Hokit running his mouth at every available target, and Ciryl Gane holding interim gold. It is genuinely becoming the most entertaining division in the sport right now.
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