Josh Hokit disrupts UFC Freedom 250, trades words with Ilia Topuria, then exits — Derrick Lewis
Josh Hokit disrupted the derrick lewis-linked UFC Freedom 250 press conference on Friday evening in New Jersey, traded words with Ilia Topuria, and was escorted offstage after the exchange turned loud at the Prudential Center. The interruption came at an event promoting the June 14 card scheduled for the White House lawn in Washington, D.C.
Prudential Center exchange
Hokit and Topuria yelled back and forth before Topuria tossed a water bottle toward him. Hokit answered with, “Come up to a real weight class!” and then, “I’ll give it to anybody! I don’t give a (expletive).”
The scene grew out of a press conference built around a seven-bout card, and it put Hokit in the middle of the event’s biggest public moment before a single fight had started. Topuria is scheduled to face Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification matchup in the main event, while Alex Pereira meets Cyril Gane in the co-main event for an interim heavyweight title.
Josh Hokit and Derrick Lewis
Hokit enters the White House card as the scheduled opponent for Derrick Lewis in a three-round heavyweight contest. The UFC added that pairing after UFC 327, when Hokit improved to 9-0 in pro MMA with a unanimous decision victory over Curtis Blaydes on April 11.
His path to this stage has moved fast. Hokit earned a UFC contract in August through Dana White’s Contender Series, was 3-0 in the promotion nine months later, and then pushed himself into the White House lineup after the April 11 win. Five weeks before the heavyweight bout, he was listed as roughly a -330 betting favorite.
UFC Freedom 250 buildup
The wider card still centers on June 14, when UFC Freedom 250 is scheduled to take place on the White House lawn. Pereira’s move to heavyweight adds another layer to the event, since he is trying to become the first fighter in UFC history to win a belt in a third weight class. Hokit’s interruption only made the heavyweight side of the card feel more volatile before the fighters even reached the cage.
