Josh Hokit got kicked out of the UFC Freedom 250 presser after a wild exchange involving Alex Pereira, Ilia Topuria and Derrick Lewis turned the room into exactly the kind of circus UFC security hates.
Hokit is already booked to fight Lewis on June 14 at UFC Freedom 250, and the unbeaten heavyweight is leaning all the way into the villain role. He is 9-0 as a pro, coming off a decision win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327, and he has spent the last few weeks building heat through public shots, including the promo style Sean Strickland recently called “fake and fabricated”.
The first clip showed Hokit targeting Pereira directly, using Pereira’s “Chama” catchphrase as part of a shot at his mother. The audio was chaotic, but the clearest line came right away.
“I’m going to Chama on your mama. This guy, this guy’s the baddest man on the planet? Look how I speak to him, like my dog, like my bitch. Fuck you. What you gonna do? He ain’t gonna do shit.”
Pereira, a former UFC middleweight champion and former two-time UFC light heavyweight champion, did not give Hokit much of a reaction to work with. His clearest answer in the clip was blunt.
“I have nothing to say about this guy. Listen, we were giving an interview earlier today, this guy just goes right by me, starts saying things. And I said, well, why didn’t he do anything when I was there? He says Chama. He speaks English. He speaks English.”
According to the ACD MMA post, Topuria stood up for Pereira after the insult and threw an object toward Hokit before Hokit was removed from the presser. Topuria is 17-0, the current UFC lightweight champion and a former UFC featherweight champion, so the table suddenly had a lot more heat than a normal promotional back-and-forth.
“Come up to the room,” Topuria said. “I’ll give it to anybody. I don’t give a fuck.”
Hokit also appeared to jab at Topuria speaking up for Pereira.
“You have your boyfriend speaking for you,” Hokit said.
Watch the Pereira and Topuria clip below:
🚨 HOLY SH*T!!!!!
JOSH HOKIT FLIPPED OFF ALEX PEREIRA AND INSULTED HIS MOTHER
ILIA TOPURIA IMMEDIATELY STOOD UP FOR ALEX AND THREW AN OBJECT AT HOKIT’S HEAD
THEN HOKIT WAS KICKED OUT OF THE PRESSER
HOLYYYYY SH*T pic.twitter.com/B12eJ18jJc
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) May 8, 2026
Hokit Also Told Derrick Lewis He Would Retire Him
The Derrick Lewis exchange was cleaner on audio and just as nasty. Hokit went after Lewis’ last fight, his knees and his nickname before their White House card matchup.
“Derrick Lewis ain’t tight. That’s why he pussied out and took a dive in his last fight. I’m gonna retire him. Then he’s gonna sell old man ass wipes, because his knees look like a broke toy. And on June 14th, I’m gonna beat the shit out of the Black Pillsbury Doughboy. Am I right, New Jersey?”
Lewis answered like Lewis, keeping the whole thing short and weird enough to steal the clip back for a moment.
“I didn’t understand nothing he said. Tell him you gotta stick that mic away from his mouth a little bit. I know it’s black and big. You gotta pull away from his mouth a little bit.”
Hokit kept pushing after that, mixing the White House fight angle with another threat toward “The Black Beast.”
“No, I never thought I’d even make it this far in my career to be fighting at the White House. Derrick is dyslexic, so math should suck. And when I cut him open, all you will see is backwood guts. The Black Beast is gonna get his ass beat. Am I right, New Jersey?”
Here’s the Lewis exchange:
https://x.com/ChampRDS/status/2052867921500672238
Lewis is 29-13 with one no contest, has 24 knockouts in his pro MMA career, and owns the UFC record for most knockouts with 16. That is why Hokit’s coach Mike Winkeljohn already said he wants Hokit fighting smart instead of turning the Lewis matchup into a damage contest for applause.
Hokit got the attention he wanted, but this went past normal fight promotion. Going after Lewis is one thing. Dragging Pereira’s mother into it while Topuria is sitting right there is how a presser turns into security work, and now the June 14 fight has a nastier edge than it had when the day started.
