Dana White Admits to Throwing Some “Tough Guys” at Josh Hokit Due to Trash Talk
Dana White has admitted that he, like many fight fans, overlooked heavyweight Josh Hokit upon his arrival to the UFC. In fact, after Hokit kicked off his UFC career with WWE-style antics, White admits he responded by giving “The Incredible Hok” difficult match-ups.
Speaking on The Jim Rome Show recently, White admitted that “I didn’t like some of the things he said, so I threw some tough guys at him. And he passed every test, and here he is. Like him or hate him, he fought his way to the top. There’s no denying that this guy deserves this title shot and belongs here.”
Questioned about his decision to throw some difficult obstacles in Hokit’s way, White added “Yeah, yeah. I don’t know. This guy comes in and literally starts attacking people for no reason and saying things that you don’t necessarily love. But it’s the beautiful thing about the fight business. So if you don’t like the things Josh Hokit said on the White House lawn that night, guess what? In two weeks you get to see him punched in the face at Madison Square Garden, live and free on Paramount+. It’s the beauty of the sport we’re in.”
Among Hokit’s transgressions, he called former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama “a man” after his win at the White House this past June. And so while Hokit’s out-of-cage antics clearly haven’t won White over, he’s more than willing to promote the heavyweight’s abilities and upcoming UFC 334 title fight with Ciryl Gane. He’d just prefer that Hokit just come out and be himself.
“I grew up in the Tyson era. I like when you just be yourself and you come out, and if you’re a badass, you’re a badass. And Josh Hokit is a badass. Hate him, like him, whatever you think, you cannot deny that this guy is the real deal. He doesn’t act like it, he doesn’t act like it, but he is.”
Hokit, 10-0, started his UFC run fighting the likes of little-known heavyweights like Max Gimenis and Denzel Freeman. After spending more time talking trash on the mic than in actual fights, he was suddenly thrown up against Curtis Blaydes, who had previously competed for interim gold. The outcome: a Fight of the Year candidate, with Hokit putting on a stellar performance. He followed that up by trouncing Derrick Lewis at the White House.
At UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 14, Hokit looks to dethrone Ciryl Gane. The French heavyweight known as “Bon Gamin” saw his interim title upgraded after Tom Aspinall vacated his heavyweight championship due to an ongoing eye injury.
Hokit hasn’t been any less vocal ahead of this one. He recently released a music video and accompanying “diss track” which, among other things, revisits the Obama insult, and shows him (literally) burying Gane.
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