Josh Hokit was asked why he’d beat Ciryl Gane at UFC 334. He didn’t talk about wrestling, cardio or pressure. In a clip posted to X by Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) on Nov. 10, his entire answer was two words, telling the room that Gane is gay.
That was the whole game plan, apparently. No tactical breakdown, no follow-up about where he thinks the Frenchman breaks. Just a sexuality jab used as a punchline, delivered like it was a scouting report.
It also wasn’t the first time this week Hokit picked an ugly word over a real answer.
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A Week of Hokit Unfiltered
On Nov. 7, Dovy posted a clip, via @TimwelchMT, of Hokit describing a run-in with Gable Steveson. By Hokit’s telling, Steveson offered a handshake and Hokit refused it, telling him flatly that the two of them weren’t friends. Hokit said Greg was standing right there, so he kept it respectful, and then told Steveson not to look at him or talk to him.
Then he capped it off. Hokit said Steveson was lucky he had a fight in two weeks or things would have gotten bad, and he finished by calling Steveson half retarded.
So that’s a slur aimed at Steveson and a homophobic put-down aimed at his actual opponent, inside of three days. The fight he mentioned is the Gane fight. Two weeks from Nov. 7 puts it right around Nov. 21.
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Hokit’s name also came up over the weekend from a different direction. Joaquin Buckley, in a clip shared by Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) via @Newmansa94, dared Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, Sean Strickland, Alexander Volkov and Hokit to get in the DJ booth at an all-black club, with no security around, and shout the N-word. If any of them did it, Buckley said, he’d shut up. Strickland fired back by labeling Buckley a Karen and betting that Buckley wouldn’t walk into the IRS and show them his tax returns. Hokit’s response to Buckley, if he gave one, isn’t in anything I’ve seen.
And Hokit has been fully in character all week. Spinnin Backfist posted video on Nov. 9 of him switching into persona the second he spotted Alex Pereira.
Somebody Is Betting on Him
For all the noise, at least one guy is putting real money behind Hokit. UFC on Paramount reported that Jorge Masvidal bet $200,000 on Hokit to beat Gane, with a payout of $1 million if Hokit wins. Those numbers tell you how the books see this one. Hokit is a big underdog, and Gane is the guy the market trusts.
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That’s fine. Heavyweights get upset all the time, and an underdog talking big is half the fun of fight week. I’ve got no problem with Hokit being rude, refusing handshakes or acting like a pro wrestler in a hotel lobby. But when a reporter hands you an open question about how you beat one of the best technical heavyweights in the division, and the best you’ve got is a two-word shot at the man’s sexuality, you’re telling everyone you don’t have an answer. Masvidal has $200,000 riding on Hokit finding a better one inside the cage than he did at the microphone.
