Sean Strickland has built his entire public image on stating precisely what he thinks, no matter who it offends. So when the former UFC middleweight champion was recently asked about the growing buzz surrounding heavyweight contender Josh Hokit, his response swiftly turned into a rant that unexpectedly drew Jake Paul into the mix.

And Strickland clearly had an issue with the act. During a media scrum ahead of UFC 328, ‘Tarzan’ questioned what he sees as an increasingly fabricated persona from Josh Hokit despite admitting that he personally likes him.

“Josh Hokit, you’re a grown-a– man,” he said. “You’re almost 30, and you’re acting like f—— Jake Paul when he was 13. Stop. You made it.

“People know who you are; just stop. You don’t have to interview homeless people and be f—– weird; just fight now!”

Even though the 28-year-old hasn’t directly interviewed the homeless as Sean Strickland claims here, the dig possibly aims at Josh Hokit’s street interview content on his social media in the past.

What makes the criticism more interesting is that ‘Tarzan’ wasn’t speaking as an outsider, taking random shots. He revealed that he has previously trained with Hokit and still considers him a friend.

However, that did not stop him from accusing the heavyweight of focusing too much on performance rather than authenticity.

“The thing I don’t like about Josh, and again, I’ve met Josh and trained with him; he’s a very likable guy,” he continued. “He’s a really nice guy, and I consider him a friend of mine, but at some point, it’s such a fabricated image, and it reminds you of a WWE skit.”

The timing of the comments is crucial because Josh Hokit’s rise in the UFC has been impossible to ignore. The former football player has rocketed into heavyweight contention after defeating Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327, propelling him into the division’s top five.

At the same time, he has totally embraced chaos outside of the Octagon, transforming himself into one of the UFC’s most outspoken personalities ahead of his next fight with Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250. Some fans consider it a clever promotion. Others see exactly what Sean Strickland sees: a good fighter slowly becoming a character.

But if you ask the fighter, his technique for sure is working. After all, this very technique helped him dethrone Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Josh Hokit wins over Donald Trump despite Sean Strickland’s claims

Josh Hokit probably doesn’t mind Sean Strickland labeling him a character as long as the strategy is working. Because while some fighters see the antics as fake, the UFC heavyweight has quickly established himself as one of the promotion’s biggest new attractions after only three fights inside the Octagon.

After the win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327, the 28-year-old said that UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard stopped him on his way to the ambulance and delivered a shocking message.

“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,'” Hokit said on Smash Cast.

That is a significant shift given that Donald Trump previously hailed Khabib Nurmagomedov as his favorite fighter ever, praising the undefeated legend for supposedly never losing a round in his career.

“Well, I think Khabib,” he said on Adin Ross‘ livestream when asked of his favorite fighter. “Khabib was 29-0, and then his father died and he stopped.

“I think he never lost a round. He fought many times; he never lost a round.”

That may explain why Hokit continues to focus so strongly on the entertainment aspect of fighting. His rise has been driven not only by results but also by becoming impossible to ignore. Between viral moments, loud self-promotion, and now a slot on the White House card versus Derrick Lewis, the heavyweight has established a persona that people keep talking about.

Sean Strickland may see a WWE-style act. However, from Josh Hokit’s standpoint, it has already helped him achieve something few fighters ever could: replacing Khabib as Donald Trump’s favorite UFC fighter.