Why UFC star Josh Hokit is training with pepper spray ahead of heavyweight title fight

Josh Hokit has shown off the drastic measures he's taking in training to prepare for this UFC heavyweight title clash with Ciryl Gane.

Following confirmation that former champion Tom Aspinall had vacated the heavyweight title due to injury, the UFC elevated interim champion Gane and immediately booked his first title defence against Hokit to take place on November 14.

While other heavyweights are arguably more deserving of a title shot, Hokit's explosive and controversial personality is what has earned him the fight with Gane, and it's clear he's not planning on reigning in his behaviour as fight night gets closer.

READ MORE: UFC heavyweight title picture 2026: Ciryl Gane, contenders and what happens next

Josh Hokit gets pepper sprayed before fighting in shocking training video

Heading into his first heavyweight title defence, there are a lot of questions about Gane and the controversial way he ended up becoming champion.

Essentially, Gane has directly benefitted from illegally eye-poking former champion Aspinall when he challenged the Englishman for the heavyweight title last year, as the eye pokes caused the injuries that forced Aspinall to vacate the belt.

Aspinall's decision to vacate then meant that Gane, despite being the one to cause the injuries, became the undisputed champion having beaten former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereria in an interim heavyweight title bout at the White House in June.

It's almost certain that in the build-up to his fight with Hokit at UFC 334, Gane will face a host of questions from fans and the media about the eye pokes, and it appears his opponent isn't prepared to let the topic lie either.

Clearly referencing the eye pokes, Hokit recently shared a video on his social media showing him preparing for the Gane fight by being pepper sprayed directly on his eyes before hitting pads with his training partner.

"I actually got pepper sprayed," Hokit claimed in the video.

Between screams, he added: “It actually burns. I thought this was fake.”

According to medical reports, pepper spray causes immediate, intense burning pain, involuntary eye closure, temporary blindness, and severe distress and is mainly made up of oleoresin capsicum (OC), an oily extract from hot chilli peppers.

That being said, it's almost certain that, despite Hokit's claims, the 'pepper spray' in the video is not real and Hokit is just using it as a prop to fire a dig at his opponent a couple of weeks before the biggest fight of his career.

Hokit has made a career by going viral online, brutally trolling and teasing his opponents and even others completely unrelated to mixed martial arts and so it's likely that this training video will be far from the last time we'll see him tease Gane for his eye pokes.

READ MORE: Former UFC fighter fights six family members in one night in insane MMA match-up

Ciryl Gane slams ‘mentally fragile’ Tom Aspinall over eye poke controversy

Immediately after the Aspinall fight, Gane expressed regret for how the bout ended and initially appeared to be fairly respectful to his opponent.

However, in the months since the 36-year-old has continued to lash out at the former champion, recently labelling him 'fragile' for how Aspinall has continued to criticise Gane for his actions during the bout.

"Tom Aspinall was seen as a monster really, like a freak of nature, but when you look at the numbers, it's a different story," Gane claimed on the Zack En Roue Libre podcast.

"There are a lot of things like that where, even mentally, we knew he was a little mentally fragile; we'd picked up on it with him. The way he celebrated after fights, his body language, etc. How he communicated and so on; we suspected he was a little fragile.

"In the end, sure enough, everything that happened after our fight confirms that the guy complains quite a bit. Brother, you got poked in the eye; you have the right to stop. That's your right. Nobody knows how you experience that pain.

"But you don't need to do everything you did in terms of public statements because it worked against him in the end.

"It happened to me before, actually, when I fought Derrick Lewis and won the belt. He poked me in the eye and my vision hadn't recovered, but I kept fighting. I didn't complain about it."

As for the UFC, it appears to have listened to Aspinall and fans as recent weeks have shown that fighters will now receive just one warning for poking an opponent in the eye during a fight, with point deductions to follow for a second offence.

READ MORE: UFC offered chance to sign 'future GOAT' as Dana White confirms talks