For better or worse, Josh Hokit (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is quickly becoming a name in the UFC’s heavyweight division that’s in desperate need of new contenders.
Hokit is all cringe whenever he has a microphone in front of him, but his actions in the Octagon are hard to ignore. The 28-year-old former Fresno St. running back improved to 3-0 in the UFC with Saturday’s unanimous-decision win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over fifth-ranked Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327 in Miami.
Hokit earned an extra $200,000 when he was issued a Performance of the Night bonus, and he and Blaydes both garnered Fight of the Night honors. It might’ve been the Fight of the Year as well.
Hell, it was probably the second-best heavyweight fight in the promotion’s history behind only Mark Hunt and ‘Bigfoot’ Silva’s epic five-round majority draw at UFC Brisbane on Dec. 7 of 2013.
Hokit and Blaydes went to war for 15 minutes in an absolute bloodbath. Both men nearly finished each other multiple times in the opening round, and how it went the distance is a testament to the heart and toughness of both fighters.
The 351 combined significant strikes landed were the most in UFC heavyweight history, and so were the 595 combined significant strikes attempted. Hokit’s 177 significant strikes landed were the second-most in UFC heavyweight history, and Blaydes’s 174 significant strikes landed were the third-most in UFC heavyweight history.
Both men were transported to a local hospital in Miami after their iconic battle. Blaydes sustained a broken nose and a fractured orbital bone.
Hokit earned himself another marquee fight, and he’ll see a number beside his name when the new UFC heavyweight rankings are revealed Tuesday.
“I’ve got one for you guys, I’m sure you guys just saw the Hokit fight, right?” UFC President Dana White said during an Instagram live late Saturday night.
“So about an hour ago, the president leaned over to me and said ‘why isn’t Derrick Lewis on the White House card’, and I said ‘hold on a second Mr. President.’
“I stepped away and called Derrick Lewis and said ‘Derrick, the President just asked me why you’re not on the card, do you wanna fight on the White House card?’ He said, ‘Of course I do’.
“Then the Hokit fight plays out, and Joe Rogan says, is there still room on the White House card? I went back and talked to him, Hokit vs Derrick Lewis was just added to the White House card in the last 10 minutes. President Trump built half the fight, Joe Rogan built the other.
“Both guys have accepted and agreed to fight so we’re adding one more to the White House. Pretty badass how that came together organically.”
DraftKings has Hokit installed as a -285 favorite, leaving Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis as a +230 underdog.
The 41-year-old Lewis (29-13-0-1 MMA, 20-11 UFC) is 3-2 in his last five fights. He’s coming off a second-round knockout loss vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
Lewis owns the UFC record for most career knockout wins with 16.