Josh Hokit responds to Dana White’s title concerns

UFC heavyweight dismisses White’s comments ahead of UFC 334

The undisputed UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit recently commented that Dana White apparently has doubts about whether he would win the title fight against Ciryl Gane.

Josh Hokit will get his shot at the title in November against two-time interim champion Ciryl Gane. Both will be fighting for the very title that Tom Aspinall vacated earlier this month. Josh Hokit has earned this opportunity thanks to victories over Derrick Lewis, among others. Despite these successes, however, he continues to face significant criticism from both the UFC and fans, as his behavior outside the Octagon often draws negative attention. Dana White recently spoke out quite strongly on the matter, saying he doesn’t think much of what Josh Hokit said, and that he’d have to come to terms with it if Josh Hokit were to win the title. On the Ariel Helwani Show, Josh Hokit responded relatively quickly, and didn’t seem to take those statements all that seriously.

“Dana has to say that. Deep down, I’m Dana’s favorite fighter; he can’t wait for my fights. At the end of the day, I didn’t join this sport to be liked by anybody. The whole world could be against me. Whether you like me or not, it is what it is…I’m not in this to be accepted and stuff; I’m just here to put on good fights. So if you call my name and have me sign the contract, I’ll give you good fights. That’s the most important thing… It’s human nature to want to be liked and have fans, but I’m not going to put on a fake smile and s— for it”

he said.

You have to give him credit for really sticking to his guns. In the future, Josh Hokit will surely attract negative attention again and piss people off. The only question is how far he’ll go. Do you think it’ll eventually lead to him getting kicked out of the UFC?

I don’t think it’ll come to that. I think he’s just the type of guy who enjoys the attention, whether it’s positive or negative. And when you’ve only been around for a short time, the negative approach is often easier.