While Josh Hokit continues to deal with the fallout from the Michelle Obama comment controversy, he recently found himself playing fact-checker. The 29-year-old UFC heavyweight contender came across a post on X from UFC on Paramount’s Deep Waters series featuring Jorge Masvidal, Rashad Evans, and Din Thomas. But it was one claim from UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans that immediately caught his attention.

“It’s crazy because they were in the same camp,” Evans said about a potential fight between Hokit and Gable Steveson. “And speaking of Hokit, they are in the same camp, and Hokit was like, ‘Look, if we lock up, as far as the same team training together, I wouldn’t mind going to a different weight class. Hokit said that… No, he [doesn’t] want to fight a teammate. 

“Nah, he said he’s down to be a team player. He said he’s with that… That’s what I guess the whole Jackson’s, you know…”

While there are no public records of Josh Hokit claiming he wouldn’t fight Gable Steveson, Evans may have been referring to a conversation that took place behind closed doors. Still, it’s not unrealistic to imagine a potential fight between Hokit and Steveson. The two share several similarities beyond being undrafted NFL players and having wrestling backgrounds.

For instance, while Hokit already has four UFC fights under his belt, Steveson was only signed by the promotion in May this year. That makes a future clash between the two a realistic possibility. But after hearing Rashad Evans’ claim that he had refused to fight Steveson altogether, ‘The Incredible Hok’ was quick to step in and dismiss it as false.

“Rashad… what are we even talking about, buddy… I never said this lol,” he wrote on X. “We aren’t teammates & he doesn’t even train in Albuquerque at Jackson Wink… so nice try lol.”

Although the first part of Hokit’s comment might be true, the second half has a bit of nuance to it. 

Are Josh Hokit and Gable Steveson teammates? 

According to several sources, Steveson and Hokit both train out of Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque. Even Jon Jones, Steveson’s mentor, trained at the gym for years before parting ways with it. He later moved to Jackson’s MMA Acoma, a Greg Jackson-affiliated gym that operates separately from the main Jackson Wink facility run alongside Mike Winkeljohn.

Steveson and Jones have also trained together on several occasions, with clips of their sessions circulating on social media. However, those workouts appear to have taken place at different locations, including The Performance Ranch in Albuquerque. Even so, that doesn’t change the fact that Hokit and Steveson appear to be teammates. 

In a November 2025 interview with Ariel Helwani, Hokit revealed that he had sparred with Steveson, saying, “When we trained, it was real solid work. Real respectful on both ends.” While sparring together alone doesn’t necessarily make them teammates, the available information about their training bases strongly suggests that they are.

It’s also worth noting, however, that Steveson has trained at several other gyms like Syndicate in Las Vegas and Kill Cliff FC in South Florida. At the end of the day, the only people who can provide more clarity to the situation are the people involved.