The UFC’s plans to hold a fight card on the White House grounds briefly took a back seat to one fighter’s antics at the press conference for UFC Freedom 250 on Friday.
The media gathering was held in Newark, N.J., the site of UFC 328 on Saturday. But the focus for the day was on the upcoming event in Washington, with all 14 fighters scheduled for the card present Friday for faceoffs.
Josh Hokit, an undefeated heavyweight scheduled to face Derrick Lewis, turned the event into his personal stage.
Decked out in a black robe, sunglasses and American flag gloves and bandana, Hokit stood and cut WWE-style promos about not only Lewis but also Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria until UFC security eventually removed him from the arena. His screeds were frequently vulgar, attempted to rhyme and invariably ended with, “Am I right, New Jersey?”
He called Lewis “the Black Pillsbury Doughboy” and lobbed multiple slurs at his fellow fighters. The other fighters tried not to engage until Topuria stood up to defend Pereira, who is not fluent in English and did not appear to understand Hokit’s insults.
Topuria threw something small at Hokit before the 28-year-old from California was dragged away.
A former college football player and wrestler, Hokit improved to 9-0 in his MMA career when he defeated Curtis Blaydes via unanimous decision last month at UFC 327.
Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White had to step in during Mauricio Ruffy’s faceoff with Michael Chandler, when Ruffy stretched out his arms and touched Chandler’s chin with his fist. The faceoffs otherwise went off without incident.
White on Friday explained why UFC was releasing 85,000 tickets to the public to watch the fights not on the South Lawn but across the street in Ellipse Park on big screens.
“It’s on federal land,” White said. “… We’re (paying) the bill for this whole fight. And I can’t sell a hot dog, a T-shirt or a ticket. Nothing can be sold on federal land.”
White said about 4,000 people will be on the South Lawn where the Octagon itself will be erected. President Donald Trump will receive 1,000 tickets, White and TKO Group CEO Ari Emanuel will have 200 apiece and the remaining tickets will be distributed across branches of the military.
Trump himself was not in attendance at the press conference, but on Wednesday he hosted several UFC fighters involved with the card and revealed renderings of the Octagon with the White House as a backdrop.
–Field Level Media
