With UFC Freedom 250 days away, the fighters’ hotel has already produced its share of drama. Josh Hokit, who faces Derrick Lewis on the card, just had another run-in with Alex Pereira and his team in the hotel lobby. After their earlier altercation almost derailed the first press conference for the UFC White House event last month, the young heavyweight prospect, this time around, launched into another verbal tirade the moment he saw Pereira walk in with his team.

“Hey, what’s up, dog!” Hokit said. “You’re a p—y. That’s why you don’t say anything. P—y!”

In the clip, Hokit can be seen screaming at the Brazilian at the top of his lungs. Yet Alex Pereira chooses not to respond. In an effort to avoid another incident like the one last month, Hokit’s team pushes him up the escalator while Pereira and his team, impassively, walk through the lobby and into the hotel. Thankfully, this time, the confrontation stayed verbal and ended without incident.

It was the second time Hokit has gone after the 38-year-old in public. During the presser last month, Josh Hokit went on a similar tirade directed at the Brazilian, prompting Ilia Topuria to stand up and throw a water bottle at the undefeated heavyweight. At the time, the UFC security quickly intervened and escorted the 28-year-old out of the presser.

Since then, Josh Hokit has repeatedly taken digs at the two-division champion, hoping to secure a future fight with the UFC great. For his part, Alex Pereira, during an interview with Ariel Helwani, said he deliberately chose not to engage with Hokit outside the Octagon. However, Pereira also made it clear that he was ready to defend himself if needed, and that’s why he stood up at the press conference alongside Ilia Topuria.

When it comes to confrontations outside the UFC, neither of them is new at this. At UFC 327 in April, Josh Hokit approached Jiří Procházka during media day while performing a Mexican character impression. Whereas Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev had a confrontation with each other ahead of their UFC 320 rematch at the fighters’ hotel.

Fighter hotel confrontations are not new to the sport. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s confrontation with Artem Lobov helped ignite his rivalry with Conor McGregor. Jorge Masvidal and Kevin Holland had a heated exchange of their own at UFC 287 fight week despite being booked against different opponents.

But if an example of a confrontation turning into a physical altercation needs to be made, Muhammad Mokaev sucker-punched Manel Kape at the fighters’ hotel while disguising it as a photo opportunity ahead of UFC 304 could be a more recent one. 

Pereira and Hokit’s recent run-in remained comparatively uneventful. However, that did not stop MMA fans from tearing into the young prospect for his stunt.

Fans call Josh Hokit “stupid” over hotel confrontation with Alex Pereira

“You are very stupid,” one fan wrote. After that, another user noted, “Alex just ignored him like a fly. What are you talking about, clown?” Echoing the sentiment, another fan commented, “Hokit is the dumbest fighter in the history of the UFC.”

Well, the former champ definitely made a wise decision not to engage with Hokit. Dana White would have been livid if Alex Pereira got injured before his co-main bout with Ciryl Gane at the White House this Sunday. However, one fan contended that Hokit pushed that confrontation just to get a reaction out of Pereira and that he actually doesn’t want to fight him.

“No, he doesn’t. Hokit wants a reaction out of him, and Alex knows that. It’s not hard to understand,” the fan wrote. Another also noticed the same and remarked, “This isn’t even humorous. It’s like a retarded child yelling for attention.”

Following that comment, another user praised Pereira’s calm demeanor, stating, “Alex doesn’t need to act like a thug in public he’s smarter than that.”

Though the fans praised Alex Pereira for being able to restrain himself from throwing hands with Hokit, at one point, the former champ was almost ready for a fight outside the Octagon. After UFC 300, Jamahal Hill met ‘Poatan’ at the UFC Performance Institute and confronted him. At the time, Pereira threw gloves at Hill, ready to fight.

Probably with that in mind, a fan wanted Pereira to knock out Hokit, writing, “I hope Chama puts his annoying b—h a– to sleep soon.” On the other hand, another fan is content with someone else doing the job, “I want someone to knock this clown out so bad.”

A user hilariously remarked, “Maybe he doesn’t respond bc he figures Hokit doesn’t understand Portuguese.” Honestly, the language barrier might have helped stop the confrontation from escalating. But, as we know, Pereira and Ankalaev previously engaged in a confrontation; it’s safe to assume that the former champ’s refusal to give in helped prevent unnecessary chaos.

With Tom Aspinall sidelined due to injury, Pereira’s heavyweight future beyond the Gane fight is uncertain. If Hokit makes enough noise and the UFC is looking for a compelling matchup to fill the division’s schedule, the promotion could eventually explore putting them together, though that remains wishful thinking at this point.