On Friday, Josh Hokit was removed from a press conference for the UFC White House fight card, after the divisive heavyweight insulted his fellow athletes in a bizarre tirade.
On 14 June, the UFC will stage an unprecedented event on the South Lawn, to help celebrate 250 years of the United States. The card will actually take place on the 80th birthday of US president Donald Trump, a close friend of UFC CEO and president Dana White.
At the upcoming event, Hokit will face fellow American Derrick Lewis in a bout that was personally requested by Mr Trump, after the president sat ringside at UFC 327 last month. Hokit beat Curtis Blaydes in an instant classic in Miami, and by the end of the night, he had been paired with Lewis – one of Mr Trump’s favourite fighters.
Hokit, 28, has proven divisive among UFC fans due to his WWE-style persona, and that was on full display on Friday, as he sported a USA-themed bandana and gloves, sunglasses, and insulted his fellow fighters in rhymes.
Hokit specifically took aim at former two-weight champion Alex Pereira, who will fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt on 14 June, and lightweight king Ilia Topuria, who will headline against Justin Gaethje.
Hokit said of Pereira: “I come to devour, you will know the day, you will know the hour […] I’m not just gonna win, I’m gonna p*** on him.
“This guy’s the baddest man on the planet? Look at how I speak to him – like my dog, like my b***ch. F*** you, what you gonna do? He ain’t gonna do s***.”
The Brazilian, 38, responded via a translator: “You know, I have nothing to say about this guy. Listen, we were doing an interview earlier, this guy just goes right by me, starts saying things. I looked at him in his eye […] Why didn’t he do anything when I was there?”
Hokit continued to taunt Pereira, irritating Topuria, who proceeded to trade “f*** you”s with the American. Ultimately, the Georgian-Spaniard lost patience with Hokit and threw the contents of a bottle at him, as well as a microphone, the latter of which appeared to strike Hokit in the head.
Hokit was then removed from the stage by security, and White concluded the press conference, which was playing out in New Jersey, where UFC 328 takes place on Saturday.
On Thursday, the UFC 328 press conference ended with Khamzat Chimaev kicking Sean Strickland, ahead of their main-event grudge match. Chimaev will defend the middleweight title against the American, who is an ex-champion and a former training partner of the Russian.
Earlier in the week, Topuria, Pereira, Gaethje and Gane visited Mr Trump in the Oval Office. There, Topuria teased the president by asking why he had facilitated his match-up with Gaethje, who is a friend of Mr Trump but also a clear underdog against Topuria.
