Ilia Topuria stands up for ‘Poatan’ against Josh Hokit’s insults

The scenes were wild at the
UFC White House pre-fight press conference. 

Josh
Hokit went on an unprovoked tirade against Alex
Pereira at the event. Known for cutting WWE-esque promos, Hokit
might have crossed a line in this instance.

“Alex gained some weight and now he thinks he is King Kong,” Hokit
said. “But his girl said the steroids killed his ding dong. I’m
gonna Chama on yo mama. This guy is the baddest man on the planet?
Look how I speak to him, like my dog, like my bitch. F—k you.”

Keeping Cool

Pereira didn’t think it was necessary to respond to Hokit with the
same intensity. “Poatan” instead detailed their interaction earlier
in the day. “I have nothing to say about this guy,” Pereira said. “We were
giving an interview earlier today, this guy just goes right by me,
starts saying things. I looked at him in his eye and said,
‘Chama.’”

Ilia
Topuria, who was sitting next to Pereira, then said that the
Brazilian doesn’t need to respond to Hokit. Hokit replied by
calling the
UFClightweight a midget. Topuria then threw  glass of
water at Hokit. Security intervened and Hokit was escorted out
before things could get physical. 

Topuria (17-0) will look to defend his lightweight title against
interim champion Justin
Gaethje (27-5) in the main event of the White House card.
Meanwhile, Pereira (13-3) fights Ciryl Gane
(13-2) for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event. And
Hokit (9-0), seemingly the UFC’s new heel, will open the card
against a 41-year-old Derrick
Lewis (29-13).