Josh Hokit has spent months establishing himself as one of the UFC’s loudest personalities, but at the UFC White House press conference, he may have finally crossed the line from showman to absolute chaos. On a stage packed with champions, contenders, and cameras, the 28-year-old managed to make himself the focus of attention—and not because of the fight he was supposed to promote.

But because he picked fights with almost everyone, including Ilia Topuria, a man who isn’t even in his division. And it all began when Josh Hokit’s usual over-the-top theatrics quickly spiraled into a verbal war with Alex Pereira.

“I’m gonna shove a on your mama!” Hokit told Alex Pereira. “This guy’s the best player on the planet! Look how I treat him! Like my dog!

“Like my b—-! F— you! Whatcha gonna do? Ain’t gonna do s—!”

‘Poatan’ answered through his translator, asking why the 28-year-old did nothing backstage.

“This guy just goes right by me, starts saying things,” he said. “I look at him in his eye and I said, Show up.

“Well, why didn’t you do anything while I was there?”

That only poured fuel on the fire. Hokit insulted Pereira for using a translator, screamed personal insults, and escalated the situation until Ilia Topuria stood up and confronted him. But that did not stop Hokit’s rant, as he now took aim at ‘El Matador.’

“I am the real BMF belt, little, short m—-,” he told Topuria. “F— you. Come up to a real man. I’ll give it to anybody.

“I don’t give a f—. [Pereira,] you have your boyfriend speaking for you? … You shouldn’t find your wife in Miami.”

The last line was a very personal dig that stems from Topuria’s 2025 interview with the Nelk Boys, where he firmly defended his now ex-wife.

What was supposed to be a promotional press conference almost turned into a full-fledged brawl, with security storming in and UFC officials standing between the ‘El Matador’ and the rising heavyweight.

And in the end, Josh Hokit paid for it. Before he could even go off on Derrick Lewis, the man he is actually scheduled to fight on the White House lawn, he was removed from the stage entirely. That irony is what makes the timing perfect for Hokit’s unusual rise.

Earlier, in a backstage interview with Megan Olivi, ‘The Black Mamba’ called the 28-year-old a nobody.

“I really don’t wanna watch none of the fights,” he said when asked what he thinks of Josh Hokit. “So, I really don’t know. I don’t even know nothing about him.

“I heard that he’s just a clown, that’s all.”

Well, hours later, it seems like Josh Hokit ensured that no one in Newark, or anybody watching online, will ever forget exactly who he is. And while this rant might’ve worked for him, you know it’s too much when even someone like Sean Strickland calls one out for it.

Sean Strickland claims Josh Hokit went too far after the Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira confrontation

That is where things become most telling. Josh Hokit’s career has been built on chaos, provocation, and saying things that go viral right away—but even by UFC standards, Friday’s White House press conference appears to have gone too far. Surprisingly, one of the most outspoken critics was Sean Strickland, a man who rarely believes in limits.

But even for Sean Strickland, this was too much. After seeing the 28-year-old drag personal relationships and family into his comments against Ilia Topuria and others, ‘Tarzan’ publicly called him out.

“This is wild coming from me, but Josh goes way too far,” Strickland said of Hokit. “Chandler’s wife, Ilia Topuria’s ex… I know it’s the WWE thing, but it’s too much.”

Sean Strickland drew a clear distinction here: promotion is one thing, but bringing very personal issues such as Ilia Topuria’s very public divorce back into the spotlight is another. And this may be the true risk of Josh Hokit’s character work. He is clearly attracting attention, and in modern combat sports, attention is currency.

But there is a fine line between building hype and creating genuine resentment from peers who understand the game. If even ‘Tarzan,’ a man often compared to a human wildfire, believes Josh Hokit is going too far, then ‘The Incredible Hok’ may be discovering that chaos is easy to produce but far more difficult to control once it turns real.