Josh Hokit set a high bar in his breakout UFC win earlier this month.
In his third Octagon appearance, Hokit defeated Curtis Blaydes in an incredible fight to massively boost his stock in the heavyweight division.
The American’s divisive pre-fight antics were backed up by a back-and-forth war that won’t quickly be forgotten.
Hokit was immediately booked to face Derrick Lewis at the White House, which is another big opportunity for him but also presents some big risks.
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Was Blaydes vs Hokit the craziest heavyweight fight of all time?🤯🔥
Curtis Blaydes and Josh Hokit put on a spectacular show at UFC 327! Sum that fight up in the comments.
Mike Winkeljohn admits being nervous about Josh Hokit trying to entertain fans at the White House
Josh Hokit and Curtis Blaydes continued to trade comments after sharing the Octagon at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
‘The Incredible Hok’ has earned a reputation for trash talking his opponents both before and during the fight, which only added to this highlight of the year so far.
However, playing around with an opponent like Derrick Lewis is incredibly risky, and Hokit’s coach Mike Winkeljohn is concerned about this.
“Yes. Yes I am,” he responded when asked by Submission Radio if he’s nervous about his fighter trying to entertain the fans. “Wrong time to prove how tough you are. We’ve got to get the W and win the easiest way… I just want the W, I don’t want the tough guy. The crowd loves it, everybody loves it but I don’t want to see him later on in life with brain damage, there’s no doubt about it.”
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Use one word to describe Josh Hokit👇🏼
Josh Hokit is widely regarded as one of the cringiest fighters on the roster, but what do you think of him?😬
It may have been Donald Trump wanting Lewis on the card that led to an additional matchup being added to the White House card but Hokit’s performance in Miami earned him this opportunity.
He’s now set a certain level of expectation of what fans can expect from his fights.
However, brawling with the man who has the most knockouts in UFC history is not the safest route to take.
Winkeljohn recalled in the interview that he was coaching Marcin Tybura when he fought Lewis in 2018 and felt like they were ahead until ‘The Black Beast’ changed the outcome with one shot and stopped his opponent in the third round.
Mike Winkeljohn believes Josh Hokit’s trash talk nearly backfired against Curtis Blaydes
Mike Winkeljohn told Submission Radio that he believes Josh Hokit’s trash talking allows him to play mind games and get his opponents to divert their focus away from their own performance.
This can certainly be effective when it comes to throwing people off their game, whether this happens before the fight or during it.
That being said, Winkeljohn thinks that Curtis Blaydes only performed better in Miami as a result of the build-up to his matchup with Hokit.
“With Curtis, I honestly believe it brought the best Curtis Blaydes out,” he said. “I think it might have almost backfired in many ways because I think Curtis was no way going to stop, he was so p—– off at Josh and was upset with a lot of things or a little bit bugged, whatever the case is. So, it made for a great fight.”
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