Josh Hokit has become one of the UFC’s most talked-about new personalities in a matter of months, and he believes the sport badly needs more of what he brings.
Speaking with Chael Sonnen on Smash Cast, Hokit made the case that modern MMA fighters have become too preoccupied with image management at the expense of the entertainment value that made the sport what it is.
“The sad part is, all these fighters — that’s the thing with the day and age that we live in. Back then, you had wild men. And so you had all these personalities, everyone is going crazy, everyone is more interesting. Now, it’s like these real athletes. They’re really holding onto their image, like, ‘How can I be cool?’ So, Carlos Ulberg, when I see him, it’s like he’s carrying the weight of looking cool and being this cool guy, where now, ‘The Down Vato,’ he just doesn’t care. That’s where I’m from.”
He also pointed to UFC officials as part of the problem, describing attempts to rein him in on the microphone as counterproductive to the environment that makes the sport compelling.
“These people take their jobs so serious. It’s like, no wonder the fighters act like this. It’s like, ‘You need to go out there, and say the right answer, and respect your opponent, and be just a professional. And act like you’re not about to get in this cage.’ Look, I’m in underwear, I’ve got no shirt on, and we’re about to fight to the death basically. Why? We’ve got to remember what the sport is. Everybody doesn’t want to accept, you’re fighting in a cage. You have to be pretty stupid.”
Hokit earned four bonuses in his first three UFC fights, including both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night for his victory over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327. He has since been booked against Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House, and he attributed his rapid rise at least in part to winning over one very specific fan.
“When I was going to the ambulance after the fight, Mick comes up to me and says, ‘You are now Donald Trump’s new favorite fighter.’”