Josh Hokit is set to challenge Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight crown at UFC 334 on November 14th at Madison Square Garden. But before the controversial star steps into the most important fight of his career, Hokit drew fans’ ire for choking out a supporter during a recent meet-and-greet.

The 28-year-old contender joined a Paramount Peptide Solutions event earlier today and mingled with fans. A viral video from Championship Rounds shows a fan asking Hokit to put him out with a submission, and the UFC heavyweight gladly did it.

The footage shows Hokit slipping behind the fan and locking in a deep rear-naked choke. He held the hold for roughly 5 seconds before the man lost consciousness. The clip further displayed Hokit carefully lowering him to the floor, but the fan began convulsing as a result of the choke. 

Perhaps not noticing the man’s struggle, Hokit joked that someone else in the crowd was “next” in line to be choked out. However, he soon looked quite nervous watching the fan shake on the floor. Thankfully, the fan regained his senses and quickly gulped some water before interacting with everybody. Hokit asked if he was “okay” and wrapped him in a bro hug.

The UFC heavyweight title contender is known for his weird antics, but this is the first time he has choked out a fan who dared him to do so. 

For those who may not know, UFC fighters are often challenged by fans to apply a choke or land body shots on them. Fighters like Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira have already punched fans in the gut. But when it comes to choking out fans specifically, Kevin Holland once submitted a fan in 2022 after being trolled for over a year.

Though these stunts often generate great clout for fighters, they can prove risky for the person being choked. Plus, UFC fighters can potentially face unintended legal action.

For that reason, fans grilled Josh Hokit for indulging in such antics just a month and a half before facing Ciryl Gane. 

Fans slam Josh Hokit for submitting a fan during recent meet-and-greet 

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “Guy chokes out innocent fans who just want a picture.” A different fan followed, commenting, “They need to sue his a—s.”

After seeing Hokit render a fan unconscious, another fan fears that the UFC fighter might be facing a lawsuit, “Josh, don’t do that. Matt Hughes did it, and it cost him 250k.”

It’s unclear which Matt Hughes incident the fan referred to, but there’s definitely precedent for fighters facing lawsuits in such situations, and a famous one involves Nate Diaz.

In 2023, a viral video showed Diaz in a street altercation with Rodney Peterson, a Logan Paul lookalike influencer and MMA fighter in New Orleans. In the footage, the UFC star locked Peterson in a tight guillotine choke that rendered him unconscious.

Following the altercation, the Orleans police arrested Diaz on charges of second-degree battery. Later, Peterson filed a civil lawsuit against Diaz. 

Though Josh Hokit’s situation differs from Diaz’s, the precedent stands as a reminder that popular MMA fighters can face legal trouble when they brawl with random people outside the cage.

Even UFC lightweight Jared Gordon recently held back against an internet troll after enduring years of tirades, fearing a lawsuit. Still, it’s safe to say Hokit won’t face any legal threat, since the fan asked to be submitted.

Still, fans called Hokit’s stunt very dumb: “This s—t is so dumb and irresponsible.” Another fan joined the wave of backlash and wrote, “Yeah this is just asking for trouble.” Then a fan commented on people who ask fighters to choke them out, “Why do people ask for this s–t man?”

Following this, a very angry fan challenged Hokit to try the same submission on him, seemingly implying the UFC fighter wouldn’t be able to: “I’d like to see you try to do that to me @Josh_HokitUFC … I’d choke your sorry a—s out.”

However, a different user offered a very interesting comment: “Should’ve had him try an armbar. He’d have been in less danger.”

Here, the fan referred to Hokit failing to land an obvious armbar submission against Derrick Lewis at UFC White House, which left fans questioning his submission abilities. 

That said, the fan backlash adds another chapter to Josh Hokit’s already controversial run. Now it remains to be seen what other antics Hokit has planned before his title fight at UFC 334.