Who Is The Real Josh Hokit?

The heavyweight division in the UFC has had its ups and downs. There have been eras where it felt like the division was stacked with insane talent and guaranteed entertainment. And recently, it's felt a bit lackluster, stale with the same fighters at the top and the title picture in chaos for the last four years. Because of that, it's a division where it doesn't take much to rise to the top if you can stand out. And one guy who's speedrun the division to a title shot in just one year is Josh Hokett. My name is Josh Hokett, fighting out at Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I'm here to show that I'm the savior of this dying heavyweight division. A multi-sport athlete that turned to MMA on a whim, and in just three years from his very first fight, he's found himself at the very top of the sport. Mr. Josh Hokett, he is currently ranked number one in the stadium. How do you balance two college sports? I mean, most people have difficulty with one. One practice at a time, when it's football season. I focus on football, when it's wrestling season, you know, I focus on wrestling. So as soon as the football season was over, you know, my mind went straight to wrestling. I'm here to save the division. They need something, they need somebody, and I'm here to do it. I feel like everything in my life has prepared me for this moment. I feel like I really thrive in a one-on-one sport. In this case, one-on-one combat, because one day I will be in the UFC. One day I will be world champion. But just where did the incredible Hoker come from? How talented is he? And how has he managed to rise to the very top of the sport in record fashion? I'm Bayley in for MMA on Point. And make sure to check out the official UFC gear through our link in the description below. Using code .10 for 10% off all products in the EU store. And rep your favorite fighters with the UFC store. Four years old is about as early as you can start wrestling and even at that age it's competitive. Josh Hokett got his start here and by the age of six he'd already become a national champion. It was this achievement at such a young age that completely changed his life. He knew he was one of the best at what he did already and he followed that championship mentality through the rest of his athletic career. Going to high school he moved across California closer to a place called Clovis to pursue a serious collegiate career. Now, Clovis is well known for having high-level wrestling all across the town. This was about 10 years ago when he was just a 170-pound wrestler shooting low singles and looking nothing like the guy with glasses we know now. At high school, he placed three times in the Californian Championships before winning it in his senior year in 2016 at 182 pounds. What's more impressive is that he was now ranked as high as number three in the entire nation around this time as well. Mr. John Hogan is a senior at Clovis High School. But that wasn't the only sport he'd been playing. American football had also been a big part of his life growing up. He'd been a linebacker in high school and scored 128 tackles in his time there and also rushed over 800 yards, winning Player of the Year multiple times. And when he went to college, he did something quite rare. Initially, he accepted a wrestling scholarship at Drexel University, but it turned out they didn't have a football program. And so he changed his mind. Josh instead joined the Fresno State wrestling team that was being reinstated to the university for the first time in 10 years. It was a division one team, the highest level of competition. No. I didn't end up going. You didn't end up going. Signed. You signed and you never went. I mean, a week before they asked me to move in, I was like, man, that's far. Coast to coast trip. Yes. It was a city school, but I didn't know how I was going to hold up away from home. And away from my friends and family for that long. Wrestling team is coming back to Fresno. I want to represent my hometown and do two sports. You know, I'm just enjoying the process. He also joined the university's American football team as well, playing as a running back, fullback, and again, a linebacker. He was also a walk-on in his first year as a freshman, which meant he essentially, as soon as he got there, had to earn his place on a team amongst the other athletes recruited out of high school and the more senior players. In high school, I was a safety. And then I dabbled with the running back position and so I chose to walk on at Fresno State. I thought the smart route would be linebacker. All of our running backs got hurt that season and they were like Let's put this guy in because they only gave me one play and we ended up running that one play 18 times in the first half and I got 99 yards. When asked he simply said I've been involved in both sports since before I could remember and I couldn't imagine not doing one without the other. He played in over 50 games while at university, scoring 125 tackles, 17 touchdowns, and eventually captained the team, all while winning Player of the Year. Now, Josh at the time said, you just can't beat football, the brotherhood, the camaraderie, it's an unreal feeling to be part of a football team. He also then won the University's Athlete of the Year, and it's no surprise, as he had also immediately made an impact in wrestling. Winning the Californian Edinburgh Open and then placing in the top five for multiple competitions afterwards. Right now, at the Edinburgh Open, huge win and you're the face now. Whether you like it or not, you're the guy. You're the only guy that they have out wrestling right now for the Fresno State Bulldogs. Man, I'm excited. I'm just enjoying the process. I like to have the community on my back. It pushes me every day. In his junior year, he led the wrestling team with 27 wins, becoming their first All-American selection in nearly 20 years. I used to dread going out on that mat because they weren't going to just fall over like high school. Those guys weren't just going to give up. They weren't just going to let me beat them. Like after I get three takedowns, they're just going to stop wrestling? No, not in college wrestling. And at Division 1, that's pretty much the highest class of wrestling athlete across the country. After finishing one practice, you'd sit around waiting for the next one. It is considered a unique and often unheard of path. in college athletics. How do you balance two college sports? I mean, most people have difficulty with one. I take one practice at a time. When it's football season, I focus on football. When it's wrestling season, I focus on wrestling. So as soon as the football season was over, my mind went straight to wrestling. There's no time to feel sorry for yourself. A lot of people would. You know, saying, hey, there's no breaks because they're doing two sports. There's no time for that. Josh was also getting physically bigger playing college football and was having trouble balancing that with the weight cutting required for wrestling. But I know you play football. Yeah. Let's talk about that first. Fresno State football, Division I football. I play football, so you got to gain that weight. Wrestling, you have to cut that weight. But I mean, if you play or you wrestle heavyweight... You just wrestle whatever you weigh. What do you weigh right now? I'm like 220 right now. 220. You look pretty good, man. Yeah, I'm trying. And it was here he made a realization about his athletic potential as a heavyweight that he'd carry into his MMA career. 97, I'm more than athletic to be wrestling there. And a heavyweight, geez, they're stuck in the mud. And college was all said and done. Josh had finished fifth in the NCAA Championships at 197 pounds, losing in round two to the number one seed and future UFC star, Bo Nickel. He's taken on Josh Hulkin, who doubles as a running back for the Fresno State football team. Number 16 seed now for a resurgent Bulldogs wrestling program. Bo, though, was just too technical and too explosive. Not afraid to try anything. NCAA's most dominant wrestler right there. I came in there. I was seated last. I think I was, I think there was 14 teams in the Big 12. I ended up having a decent tournament and then that's when it clicked. My whole mentality changed of, I don't need to tech anybody. I just need to win. And I kind of found a groove with that, and I ended up winning. Josh would go on to earn All-American honors one more time the following year, and he'd moved up to as high as the 285-pound division. With wrestling, it kind of opened my eyes. And the next year, I was like, I don't really care. I All-American. I'm just going to wrestle heavyweight and just let's see what happens." He said there's just something about the grind of sports that he loved so much. That's why I came out and did this sport, you know, to test myself, you know, to see how far I'm willing to go. At any given second, I could have gave up, but that's why you wrestle, you know, to show what kind of heart you really have. He finished his senior wrestling season as a second-team NWCA All-American, leading his university with 24 wins. When university ended though, Josh would go undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, but was later signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent. But he was then waived from the final roster before being signed to the practice squad just a day later. This though was a bit of a challenge he'd have to work through. As a free agent, Josh was placed on the reserve COVID-19 list in December but then was waived during the roster cut before getting re-signed again to the practice squad. There was a lot stacked against us. like the rookies going in there, but they figured out how to do like some workouts and a bunch of team stuff. We just had to wear masks. The one opportunity that we did have for drills and like... And the same thing happened again the following year. He'd spent the whole year waiting, hoping he'd get placed on a team, but by August of 2022, he was again waived by the team and not signed to the squad. He'd basically spent two years at that point trying to work his way into a position on a squad and would now have to start all over again. But he didn't even quit at that point. He was signed by the Cardinals just three days later, but even then, just five days after that, he was again waived from his position. It was then at that point he decided it was time to follow his other athletic passion, wrestling, and the best way to do it and make as much money as possible was to become an MMA fighter. He headed to Las Vegas and to one of the oldest MMA gyms in the US, Extreme Couture. Set up back in the day by Randy Couture, the multiple time, multiple weight class UFC champion, the gym had been producing UFC talent and champions for over 20 years. It was also the perfect place for him to go as a wrestler and start to develop a complete MMA game. You're going into this new sport, and just because you know wrestling, it doesn't mean you're just going to win and be the champion. You've got to learn all the arts, and so it's a big learning curve. I'm being a sponge right now. Josh also then skipped the entire amateur MMA scene, something most fighters spend as much time on these days so they can really develop and get as much experience as possible. He decided to stay up at heavyweight, and with his collegiate credentials it was enough to get signed to Bellator for his MMA debut, somewhere his brother Isaiah was already fighting. Come to find out it was easier, you know, they fall down a little bit easier and they get tired faster. It's dangerous. They punch a little bit harder, but it's a little bit slower and they get tired faster. And I have the speed advantage. I'll have the cardio advantage. He was very happy to be debuting in the big promotion and gave props to Scott Coker for giving him a chance to show what he was capable of, calling it the next chapter of his life just beginning. And once that happened, he also changed gyms again and moved his training to another legendary gym, Jackson Wink in Albuquerque, New Mexico, home to Greg Jackson, who'd seen Jon Jones to his UFC title and defended it against all challengers for a decade. Every guy has stopped it by in this gym. After all the work Josh had been putting in in training in just the last seven months and learning MMA, he was going to be making his pro debut on a massive event. Bellator 300, a culmination of the years that Bellator had stood as a UFC competitor and this was their swan song as well, recently making a deal with the PFL to merge their roster. It was certainly a nerve-wracking experience for your first MMA fight. Today makes his professional debut. Despite that though, Josh came out calm and composed, moving well on the outside and looking to time his fast right hand. And they will. And of course, it wasn't long before he started utilising all his wrestling experience as well. Later tonight as part of the prelims, there's a long distance shot by Hogan, who was stopped in just 10 seconds, but Mike Wendeljohn, and there is a low takedown changing level. He was anticipating and level-changing under attacks really nicely, and he was fighting cautiously though, sticking and moving and showing off his hand speed. You'll notice he did not wind up. It was a measured start from Hokit, nothing like the run-em-down brawler we'd see later in his career, but to be fair, this was his first fight, but towards the end of the third he collected another takedown and saw his moment to find the finish. Beautifully set up arm triangle, very tight, and well done to find the stoppage in his debut. And in a post-fight interview, we saw an insight into the mentality that was him moving forward. I have high expectations for myself, so I'm a little disappointed I didn't get him out of there faster. It's everything I ever imagined it, but I won't ever be satisfied until I got the belt. Already, he was putting a lot on himself, expecting to become a champion. like he had done in wrestling previously and was pretty humble in again thanking Scott Coker for the opportunity. He was the one that gave me the fight named the Incredible Hulk so shout out to him. I promise him I'll make him proud and if Bellator sticks around I'm gonna make him a lot of money. But Josh showed he was aware of how the sport worked and that if he wanted attention and more opportunities and title fights He had to start leaving no doubts about his potential now in the sport of MMA. I already told my coaches I gotta go harder. I gotta put all these guys in the dirt. I gotta smash all of them in the first round. I don't want to give any of these guys hope. The only problem was, though, he'd joined Bellator at exactly the wrong time. The deal with the PFL meant that a lot of operations were on hold or taking a while to get figured out, and that included when his next fight would be. He had several opponents cancelled, including a matchup with a guy who's now storming through the UFC himself, Anthony Wynn. yeah so this whole thing's just been all over the place and it's unfortunate but it's like it's testing me i was supposed to fight yesterday they want me to face this guy because they think we're on the same level but i'm here to show everybody there's his levels to this too his name is Anthony, uh, Wint, I believe. No, he's an up-and-coming guy, too. He's an up-and-coming guy. No matter what, though, the athletic mentality was the loudest voice in his head. He was now in the sport, and he could look around and see where others were going wrong and how he wasn't going to let this chance to rise to the top slip through his fingers. And you see, even some of my teammates, where it's like you can see why they're not having the success. The people that are in the gym the most, I mean, they're going to have... It would be an entire year before Josh got another fight, but it was another year spent training his skills, developing his game, but also his mindset. He'd meant what he'd said about wanting to leave the other guys in the dirt rather than having a measured performance, and returning to Bellator to fight the 2-2 Sean Rose, he meant to make a statement. He took Rose down within the first minute. We get his back to the mat. And from there, he rode him easily with great balance, dropping ground and pound, and keeping him on the mat. They are right in front of us, and those are left hand doing some work. First round had been dominant, and as soon as he heard the 10-second clapper go off, he sprung right into an armbar and got the finish. Get away from the fence. Armbar. Go, go, go! Josh, though, between his first and second fight, had adopted an on-mic persona that we'd come to see in the UFC speak in his mind. I want to shout out my dad for whooping me as a kid so I can whoop these grown men in the octagon. That's what parents are messing up nowadays. They don't want to discipline their kids. They grow up weak. They want to be transgender and support the LGBTQ. When asked about what was next, he was also pretty clear that this was just the start. On my worst day, these guys can't beat me. Sky's the limit. I got the best coaches. One problem he did have with Bellator though is that he wasn't getting to fight enough. He was ready to fight as often as possible, comparing it to how when he competed in wrestling, he competed every weekend. He also wasn't interested in going to the PFL. And when it came to renegotiating the Bellator fighters' contracts, he said he was offered $20,000 less than what Bellator had paid him. Now that is a significant drop-off, and he also wanted to get to the UFC, not become a PFL champion. Anyway, he instead headed for LFA, one of the UFC's top feeder promotions for talent, and as a heavyweight, he was set to make an immediate impact on the division. At LFA 199, he returned to California at the Tachi Palace Casino to take on John Lopez, a 2-1 pro who also had a collegiate wrestling background. Came up from Florida. Hokit gets it. He immediately took his fellow wrestler down with ease and was controlling and dropping heavy ground and pound. And so these guys have been striking since they were four, just like I've been wrestling since I was four. Hokit dropping the punches. He is swarming all over Lopez Gil. And once he had a dominant position, he just stretched him out and poured it on for the finish. Scored 18 touchdowns. He also threw a couple TDs. 27-year-old. Oh, the hooks are in. Oh, my God. Lopez had barely landed a single punch, and Josh was right. These guys on the same records as him weren't on his level, and he was dusting through them. I feel like everything in my life has prepared me for this moment. I feel like I really thrive in a one-on-one sport. In this case, one-on-one combat, because one day I will be in the UFC, one day I will be world champion. Just two months later, he'd be back in March 2025, this time in Vegas to take on Ezekiel Latu. This guy was 5-3, more experienced and well-rounded than his previous opponents, but it didn't stop Josh from finishing him even faster. Latu almost caught him, but now Hokit gets the tackle. He's got it! Walk-off submission! By this point as well, he hadn't gone unnoticed. He'd done enough at heavyweight and with his credentials to be scouted for Dana White's Contender Series and he accepted a contract to fight there for August. But this was only his second year in MMA and he was already getting a pathway straight to where he wanted to be. But he also accepted one more fight in LFA so he could continue to gain experience before he got there despite already feeling like his skill set was was good enough to beat the UFC roster, His opponent was Eric Lunsford, a more experienced pro and a much bigger guy who actually missed the limit by like five pounds. All his seven wins were by KO, but Josh was confident nothing was going to stop his run to the UFC. 1,300 when I put the house in his back. In about five seconds, Josh shot and took Lunsford down and once again completely smothered and controlled another heavyweight while he just beat him up. Lumsford had no response and no way out of the crucifix and so Josh just continued to batter him. Those shots could be heard through the canvas, and it was another quick performance and easy work for Josh, where again, he'd barely been punched. With his spot in the Contender Series also secured, and the fighting side of things down, Hokit used the win as another chance to show that he was going to be bringing more than just a skill set to the UFC. He was bringing a whole persona with him. Listen, heavyweights, when you sign the contract to fight me, don't even bother to train. You guys already lost. You guys are fat and slow and lazy. I'm here to bring justice to the heavyweight division. And I'm going to wipe you guys out one by one. Backstage as well, it was clear Josh had pretty much had everything go according to plan so far since deciding to swap from football to MMA. 5-0, five victories, five finishes. I haven't been hit in the face yet. This is just my swag. This is just my swag. And I'm rolling up with... It's still kind of unclear when exactly he adopted this whole Incredible Hulk persona, but somewhere in that layoff after the first Bellator fight, Josh had realized that if he wanted to get people to pay attention to him, he needed to promote himself. As well as the fight. In these post-fight interviews, man, I got to know. You got to be cooking these up in the back before. Is it spontaneous? Is it planned? The fans want to know, too. I mean, do you go into a test unprepared? If you want to execute... At a high level, I mean, you've got to prepare at a high level. Inside of just five months in the LFA, Josh had picked up three first-round finishes, and by August, he was already going to be given a shot at making the UFC roster, appearing on Season 9, Week 2 of the Contender Series. Everything he'd done up to this point, though, would mean nothing if he couldn't put on the kind of performance he wanted. He had one opportunity to steal the show, and that's exactly what he did. My name is Josh Hokett, fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. And I'm here to show that I'm the saviour of this dying heavyweight division. Josh came out and set a relentless pace, pressuring with combinations and wrestling, and by the second round, Uriel was absolutely spent, and Josh just crushed him. Oh, those elbows are crushing. Get out of there! That's it! It wasn't just his performance that got fans' attention, though. He was finally on the UFC stage with someone pointing a microphone in his face, and he took full advantage. Me and my new business partner, Dana White, have decided to get rid of this unentertaining heavyweight division, and instead, we're going to create the Incredible Hulk division. I break them all. They could wrestle strong in the first round like him, but I just keep going. I got way too much heart. I'm way smarter than these guys. These guys are fat, lazy, and slow. They're not on the Incredible Hoax level. Colby Covington Jr. over here. It was the biggest win of his career for sure, and he definitely got Dana White's attention. Broke him physically and mentally in the first round. He was done after the first and then you came in and finished him in the second. Congratulations and welcome to the UFC." And after all the athletic setbacks, Josh made it clear what his intentions were from here. I've been chewed up and spit out and I continue to find a way, and I will find a way to that UFC gold. Mark my words. This was a guy who'd literally been living at the Jackson Wink gym since deciding to rededicate his life to a different sport, and it had absolutely paid off. It's a dream come true, but I mean. I won't be satisfied until I get that UFC gold. Yeah, I see myself, maybe a title shot within two years. So, I mean, how many guys are on the roster? About, there's like 15 heavyweights now. So, a few wins put me to the top. Knowing what happens later in his story, that was still a bold prediction to make. But it would be a correct one. And the next stop for Josh was to take as many fights as possible and speedrun the division. Man, I'm ready to fight next week. I mean, you gave that Russian guy six days notice. Is a Russian better than an American? He was also pretty clear about why he was different, and why his persona on the microphone was a calculated decision and part of the same plan. So what would you tell people that are tuning in for the first time and saying, who the hell is this guy? Yeah, I mean, a lot of people, they want to eat at the table, but they bring nothing to the table. And so I'm here to bring something to the table. But fans were loving it. Not just trashing one opponent, but an entire division, which had become pretty lackluster in recent years. A lot of them were just old. Overweight, fat guys, their fights are boring, you know, they don't even speak English. I want to be UFC champion, you know, that's why I'm in this sport and I'm here to... To do that and break as many heavyweights along the way. A lot of fighters believe in manifestation but Josh was also perfectly positioned and had the right skill set to do exactly what he was claiming. I'm here to save the division, they need something, they need somebody and I'm here to do it. About just two months later, which was his fifth fight in around a year, he'd signed a contract to fight Max Gimenez at the Apex. Max was 6-1 from Brazil, and five had been finishes in the first round. He was also a BJJ World Champion, and he'd also grappled against guys like Nick Rodriguez, the guy who won $1 million at the Craig Jones Invitational. Uh, yeah, it's another Brazilian. I mean, I guess the Brazilians want revenge. This guy, he's going to walk in there probably 280 after I beat this guy. I think they'll stop talking about the size difference. Size doesn't always matter, you know, and you can even ask the ladies." It was still a good test, and still early on for Josh, but he absolutely ran through his UFC debut. 6-1, UFC debut as well, it's a big right early. He hurt Max in just four seconds with a right hand, and then finished it with a few more. The KO in less than a minute is a pretty good debut, and the UFC gave him 50k for performance of the night, and then of course, he got on the mic afterwards. I'm the talk of the town, the USA sound, the most profound, the boy toy, the lady's joy. And Josh was now fully leaning into the Incredible Hulk ego, going full Chael Sonnen. The biggest arm, the most charm. The one that's going to do all the harm. I already stomped two Brazilians, and I'm looking for a third. To Walker. I mean, that's one way to try and catapult yourself to the top of the division, and beating Volta Walker was gonna do that. But fans picked up on his character immediately, and he had their attention as well. Yeah, hopefully I'm creating a little buzz. Hopefully the fans like what they see, and they want to see more. He didn't get another Brazilian. Instead, he drew Denzel Freeman, a 7-1 prospect from the world of Greco-Roman. Whereas Josh had been in freestyle, and Freeman had also been the LFA heavyweight champion while Josh was with the promotion. Hokit came in and proved the better wrestler immediately. Trying a different takedown. Oh, beautiful job by Oki. I did not expect him to take this down out that quickly. Then he was just walking him down. As a smaller heavyweight, using his speed and footwork, his advantages were pretty clear. Hogan's got him fighting at a real high pace. Hogan's high. He hurt him with shots on the feet and beat him up on the ground. It was kind of bad. Big uppercut, big uppercut by By the end of the fight, Freeman could barely stand, and after battering him around the octagon, Josh then flipped him off. The buzzer then sounded, and the ref had seen enough and called it off. Not sure Denzel knows where he is. Those were two quick victories in his first UFC fights, and he got another performance bonus. The fight had again been completely one-sided, and when you look at his career at this point, the guy had barely taken any punches at all. He came out to the post-fight press conference dressed as a freaking Sith Lord. ...and gory, soon to be sour and gory when I'm done with this heavy... That happened, but... The YouTube comments, though, were pretty positive. As ridiculous as this all was, it was pretty entertaining, and he was still calling out the rest of the division. Waldo Cortez Acosta is a deadbeat father, not to one kid, but to nine, and in America, that's a problem! Right, Jerry? His next fight wouldn't be Waldo, though, but it would be on a UFC pay-per-view, on the main card. Plus, where I'm gonna make the viewer combust! With one thrust. About a month later, the UFC announced a fight at UFC 327 between Josh Hokit and Curtis Blades. Curtis had been at the top of the division for years, with wins over Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, JDS, and even Alexander Volkov. It was a massive jump up in competition, but one Josh had kind of asked for. But these promos were just getting crazier and crazier. You guys motherfucking down my pony! What do you want? The Incredible Hulk, dog? I'm going to take out number four and I'm going to saw off his head and put it on Alex Pereira's body. No idea where he's going with this. And then I'm going to take number three and stitch it to the anus of number... And then I'm going to take number two's head and I'm going to stitch it to anus, to the anus of number one. Creating some type of human centipede where the Incredible Hulk will put it on a leash and walk it in his front yard. He even had jokes prepared. What do you call a Mexican that lost his car, dog? Josh had said that he was here to breathe some life back into the heavyweight division, and he certainly was doing that, but all of his theatrics would be for nothing if he couldn't get past Blades, who'd already battered back many a challenger in his career. Although both great wrestlers, this one stayed on the feet, and from the opening bell, Josh pushed the pace with both men landing hard shots on each other. Both guys have wobbled the other. Josh was landing over the top of the jab and taking advantage of the reach of Curtis, and still flipping him off. The war continued all the way into round three, with Curtis' face just destroyed but still standing, and Hokit still firing shots at him non-stop. Somehow this fight made it to the final bell, but it had been absolutely mental. Josh took the unanimous decision and another performance of the night but also fight of the night as well this time and Josh now holds UFC records for most significant head strikes landed in a heavyweight fight ever. Don't know if that's just also because of Curtis Blades and how tough he is as well. So what is there not to like when I pick up the mic? A puppy comes back to life! And after that performance, he wasn't wasting any more time, calling out the guy at the very top, Alex Pereira. I took my own horn and beat my own drum. But if you think you can beat me in a fist fight, boy, is you dumb! And P.S., it's Pereira! Now, at the time, Alex was going for a third UFC title up at heavyweight against Cyril Gant at the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House. Now, this card was getting stacked with tons of UFC talent for a massive show on the White House lawn, but the president himself asked Dana White why his favorite fighter wasn't there, Derek Lewis. The Black Beast had been knocking out heavyweights for years and still holds the record for most KOs in UFC history, but he was past his prime at this point. Still didn't stop him from wanting to appear at the White House And the UFC booked him to face off against Josh Hokett in a chance for Josh to steal the spotlight and turning around in just 60 days. But even at the pre-fight press conference, he was coming for Pereira again. I come to devour. You will know the day. You will know the hour. I'm going to give Pereira a golden shower. I'm not just going to win. I'm going to piss on him. I'm going to shama on your mama. Josh, though, was just too fast for Derek. He stayed on the outside, avoiding Derek's big shots and picking him apart before taking him down. There it is, you knew it was coming. Derek survived that nasty armbar, but had landed just one strike by the end of the first round. And round two wasn't any better, as Josh kept landing big right hands, beating Derek to the punch. He was way faster than him, and eventually the Black Beast just collapsed to the canvas. Josh, I hope it's good. He's very good, very fast. Despite all the crazy cringe stuff, the man can fight. As good as the performance had been, though, it was again what Josh said on the mic afterwards that got more attention. And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, I'm a- Dana White did not like that one bit, calling Hokit's comments nasty and false, and didn't see the need for him to be talking about the Obamas. Josh, though, seemingly couldn't care less, even if he had been more respectful and completely dropped character backstage to talk to Megan Alivi. And it was just like, wow, I'm really here. And I'm not really trying to think about it at the moment, but afterwards, it's like, wow, I really did that. And he even gave props to Derek Lewis for showing up and performing. Beating Derek Lewis had left Hokit undefeated in ten professional fights, with four wins in the UFC in his first year. He'd already beaten Curtis Blades and stopped the promotion's all-time knockout leader. Then the title picture at heavyweight exploded as Tom Aspinall was forced to vacate his UFC title while still dealing with an eye injury inflicted by Cyril Garn, who'd since become the interim champ and now the undisputed one. But Josh apparently wasn't buying what Tom was selling. That ----'s all fake, gang. It's not real. You know what I'm saying? I'm telling you, he gets his teammates. Hey, fart on my pillow, gang. I don't know if he's paying doctors. But I think he's trying to get that bag in boxing." Still, Cyril Garn was the champ, and he was immediately booked to face Josh Hokett in November at one of the biggest shows of the year, Madison Square Garden. Dana was asked about this title fight, and he made it seem like he was dreading the idea of you being champion. Deep down, I'm Dana's favorite fighter, you know what I'm saying? I'm not looking to be like... I'm not in this to be... Inside of two years, Josh had abseiled the UFC rankings and now stood in front of a title shot he'd predicted he'd get after his Contender Series debut in as short of a time as he'd also predicted. And he didn't hold back on what he felt about Garn either. He's just coward and scared, he wants to get out of that octagon so, so badly. And so quickly that he's willing to just cheat. I got the titanium eyes, you know what I'm saying? Back of the head, he hits me with that elbow. Josh Hokett has certainly had one of the more unique MMA careers so far. His story has taken him from wrestling mats and college football fields to NFL practice squads, MMA gyms where he skipped an entire amateur career, and eventually the UFC and now a title shot. At 10-0, he's absolutely dominated a lot of his opponents and won a bonus in almost every single UFC fight. But it wasn't just the performances that got him to where he is now. Somewhere along the way, the athlete kind of became a character with glasses and a bandana and ripping off speeches from Chael Sonnen. And he's also made a deliberate attempt to get under people's skin. That character though has won him attention and brought criticism he's been willing to embrace. But every time that cage door closes, he still has to answer all that for himself. For all the noise surrounding Josh Hokett, the most compelling part of his story is how far those years of competing have carried him in such a short time. And how much further they may take him yet.