COMBAT SPORTS
Jackson-Wink's Hokit gets spot on White House card
Albuquerque-based fighter's achievements in cage speak louder than his controversial statements
Josh Hokit鈥檚 volatile actions have shouted down his volatile words.
Saturday night in Miami, Hokit (9-0), a fast-, loud- and trash-talking MMA heavyweight who trains in Albuquerque at Jackson-Wink, defeated veteran Curtis Blaydes (19-6) by unanimous decision on UFC 327.
After the wildly entertaining fight, which produced a $100,000 performance bonus for Hokit and a $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus for each fighter, UFC President Dana White announced that Hokit has been added to the June 14 UFC Freedom Fights 250 card scheduled for the White House South Lawn.
Hokit (9-0) is scheduled to face another veteran UFC heavyweight, Derrick Lewis (29-13), on the White House card.
He鈥檚 the second Jackson-Wink fighter to be selected for the Freedom Fights card. Albuquerque featherweight Steve Garcia (19-5), riding a seven-fight win streak, is matched against Brazil鈥檚 Diego Lopez (27-8).
Hokit, a former Fresno State football player and a Bulldogs All-America wrestler, first invited controversy with comments before and after his Aug. 19 victory over Brazil鈥檚 Guilherme Uriel on Dana White鈥檚 Tuesday Contender Series in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before the fight, Hokit pronounced Brazilian women as beautiful and Brazilian men as stupid, opining that all UFC fighters should be required to learn English.
After his victory over Uriel by second-round TKO, a performance that earned him a UFC contract, Hokit said, 鈥淢y opponents won鈥檛 be these lazy, boring heavyweights. My opponents will be sex traffickers, pedophiles, rapists.
鈥淗ell, you can even throw the transgenders in there.鈥�
Concluding his remarks in the Octagon after his Jan. 24 victory by first-round stoppage over Denzel Freeman, Hokit disparaged WNBA star Brittney Griner by questioning her gender.
During a scheduled media opportunity in Miami preceding Saturday鈥檚 card, Hokit took no questions 鈥� instead staging a 5 1/2-minute, profanity- and vulgarity-filled diatribe.
鈥淢ama, mama, mama?鈥� he said in falsetto. 鈥淵ou know who the best is, mama? The incredible Hoke鈥檚 the best, mama!鈥�
Later, in a growling voice: 鈥淚鈥檓 just lettin鈥� everybody know how (expletive) down I am, homey. I鈥檓 the downest vato in the world, homey!鈥�
Saturday, after his sensational victory over Blaydes, Hokit 鈥� donning shades and his trademark stars-and-stripes do-rag 鈥� ignored a question from post-fight interviewer Joe Rogan and launched into a rhyming, full-volume soliloquy, concluding, 鈥淚 toot my own horn and beat my own drum, but if you think you can beat me in a fistfight, boy, is you dumb!鈥�
White is on record as not liking Hokit鈥檚 shtick and said after Hokit-Blaydes that he hasn鈥檛 changed his opinion.
But, he said, Hokit鈥檚 value as a fighter trumps anything that comes out of his mouth.
鈥淗e walked the talk (Saturday), you know what I mean?鈥� White said in an interview with .
White said he鈥檒l no longer criticize Hokit鈥檚 words or behavior.
鈥溾�� It鈥檚 one thing to have a shtick, an act, whatever,鈥� White said, 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 another thing to go in and fight the No. 5 ranked (heavyweight) in the world and who鈥檚 a bad dude, and do what he did to (Blaydes).鈥�
Who鈥檚 the real Josh Hokit, beyond being a for-real fighter?
In an interview some five months ago with , a calm, personable Hokit told Albuquerque鈥檚 Mika Frankl that he sees his pre- and post-fight histrionics as 鈥渒ind of an alter-ego type thing. At least in my mind that鈥檚 how I portray it, like where 鈥楾he Incredible Hoke鈥� comes out. There has to be a beast that comes out when you step into this Octagon.
鈥淚 kind of use that for the post-fight speech as well, and the interviews after. I鈥檓 just having fun with it.鈥�
BIG WIN FOR PICO: Featherweight Aaron Pico (14-5), Hokit鈥檚 Jackson-Wink teammate, defeated Brazil鈥檚 Patricio Pitbull (37-9) by unanimous decision on UFC 327.
It was a redemptive performance for Pico, who鈥檇 been taken out in the first round by Lerone Murphy in the J-W fighter鈥檚 much-anticipated UFC debut last Aug. 16.
The judges鈥� scorecards read 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
