Josh Hokit believes MMA fans ‘deserve’ to see him fight Ciryl Gane for the undisputed UFC heavyweight title.On Monday, Tom Aspinall vacated the UFC heavyweight title due to complications with his recovery from eye injuries sustained in his last fight against Gane.Hokit made a statement in his last fight by stopping Derrick Lewis on the South Lawn of the White House in front of Donald TrumpGettyAlthough not confirmed, it’s likely Gane, who defeated Alex Pereira to become interim heavyweight champion, will be upgraded to undisputed king and defend the belt next in Aspinall‘s absence.With No. 2-ranked heavyweight Alexander Volkov already booked to compete at UFC 333 next month, company brass are left with few options to put in a title fight with Gane next.Pereira has called for a rematch with Gane, saying it’s ‘the fight that makes sense,’ but undefeated American heavyweight Hokit says otherwise.Hokit makes case for heavyweight title fight“The fans deserve me vs Gane,” Hokit wrote via X on Monday.“I’ll give Ciryl what he has coming. If Alex can win one fight in my weight class, I’ll give it to him too, early 2027.“I’ll be the most active champ in the company.”Former NFL player Hokit, undefeated in his four UFC fights and 10-0 in his professional career overall, has surged into the heavyweight rankings this year.The controversial 28-year-old from California has gained widespread attention due to his ‘Incredible Hok’ persona and went viral for his remarks about Michelle Obama after his last fight at UFC White House.Hokit stopped Derrick Lewis at the event, attended by US President Donald Trump, having previously cemented his name as a real threat to the heavyweight division as one half of a Fight of the Year contender with Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327.And he makes a great case to be the man to challenge Gane for the undisputed title.Hokit believes it should be him up against Gane for the undisputed heavyweight titleGettyThe undefeated heavyweight has bagged himself three Performance of the Night bonuses since making his UFC debut last NovemberGettyGane, meanwhile, became interim heavyweight champion on the same White House card Hokit defeated Lewis onGettyWhy Gane vs Hokit makes senseSergei Pavlovich, ranked third at heavyweight, is on a three-fight win streak, but has lost to both Aspinall and Volkov in the last three years.Pereira, meanwhile, has just had his shot at Gane and was well beaten on his heavyweight debut.This leaves the Brazilian two-weight UFC champion likely needing to prove himself in the division first before getting another title shot.Rizvan Kuniev is the only other fighter ranked above Hokit, and he is the man set to face Volkov on October 24 in Abu Dhabi, where Aspinall fought Gane to a no contest last year.Furthermore, outside of Aspinall, Gane and Pereira, Hokit is by far the most popular name high up the rankings at heavyweight.Some find the different characters he portrays during fight week cringey, while others have grown to like the American.Love him or hate him, Hokit knows how to sell a fightGettyBut, love him or hate him, he’s a very marketable fighter for UFC CEO Dana White to work with, and could find himself fighting for a belt after just four promotional appearances.talkSPORT's UFC pound-for-pound rankingstalkSPORT.com has collectively voted on the best fighters to form a regularly updated UFC pound-for-pound (P4P) rankings system for the rest of 2026 and beyond.Our P4P list will be updated regularly based on performances in the Octagon — with wins, records, title wins and defences, calibre of opponents, methods of victory and much more all determining who makes it.UFC champions Islam Makhachev, Tom Aspinall and Sean Strickland feature – but big stars such as Alex Pereira and Arman Tsarukyan miss out.