After his Round 2 TKO victory over Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250, Josh Hokit made quite the comment about Michelle Obama.
Since the dust has settled, UFC President and CEO Dana White has commented on it.
On “The Pivot” podcast with Ryan Clark, the host asked White about several topics, one of those regarding the powers of the UFC broadcast commentators. After answering Clark’s initial question, White opened up and gave his thoughts on Hokit’s “gross” comments.
Here’s what the UFC CEO and president said about Hokit’s out-of-line remark after his Freedom 250 win.
MORE: A look back to full results, highlights from UFC Freedom 250
Dana White calls out Josh Hokit for Michelle Obama comment
Just over a month after the UFC Freedom 250, White was a guest on “The Pivot” podcast. Clark asked the UFC CEO and President why one of the MMA organization’s commentators couldn’t just come out and say the UFC does not agree with Hokit’s take.
After answering the host’s original question, White also gave his thoughts on the UFC fighter’s comment:
“Other than that, it was a great f*cking night”- @danawhite
The @UFC White House card was historic—an unforgettable night of fights, with every bout ending in a finish. But the conversation shifted when Josh Hokit grabbed Joe Rogan’s microphone and shouted, “Michelle Obama is a… pic.twitter.com/KJQtVKj0Ib
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) July 21, 2026
“It’s f—ing gross, inappropriate, and obviously not the opinion of the UFC,” White said. “It was a really unfortunate thing to happen that night.”
Here is White’s full statement, per CBS Sports:
Well, if you look leading into that show, everybody was talking about. You know, got the people that are always gonna say, ‘Oh, this is political. This is a MAGA party. The President is throwing his own birthday party’ and all this bull—. It’s the 250th birthday of America. To have the opportunity to be able to celebrate that at the White House the way we did. And I said leading up to that event, ‘If you’re far left. If you’re far right. If you’re right down the middle. This show is for everybody that is an American.’ We’re going to talk about the history of America, and it’s at the White House. All this stuff. Obviously, Barack and Michelle Obama are public figures. And when you’re a public figure, you guys know, I’m sure you guys deal with your own level of bull— and people talking. It’s part of the gig. But what I don’t like is, first of all, former First Lady of the United States. No. 2, a wife, a mother. It’s f—ing gross. Right? It’s inappropriate, the timing of it and everything. I think that people understand. There are people you can’t talk to and can’t change their mind, and you can’t, whatever. Obviously, it’s not the opinion of the UFC. It’s not my opinion or anybody else who fought on that card. It was a really unfortunate thing to happen that night. When you hit this f—ing grand slam home run and have a perfect event in every way that it could be… you got a f—ing moronic, you know, it just. But, you know, other than that, it was a great f—ing night. What are you gonna do?
UFC commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier was one of the many people not thrilled with what Hokit said post-victory. Here’s what the former heavyweight said:
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III also joined in against Hokit’s words against the former First Lady. Here’s what the 2011 Heisman winner said:
Josh Hokit won the biggest fight of his career at the White House and decides to finish his interview by calling Michelle Obama a Man.
What a disgrace.
It takes a really small man to use his biggest moment to attack a woman by calling her a man.
Especially with the history…
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 15, 2026
MORE: What did Josh Hokit say about Michelle Obama?
What did Josh Hokit say about Michelle Obama?
After a series of initial post-fight questions and answers, Hokit made a shocking statement before walking out of the octagon. Before he bade the crowd adieu for the night, Hokit said, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right America?”
He was received with a mixed reaction from the crowd. Here’s a quick look at what Hokit said.
Josh Hokit just called Michelle Obama a man in front of Donald Trump at the White House pic.twitter.com/NiOqsxp2Fm
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) June 15, 2026
During the following week, footage from CNN was released that showed Donald Trump taking off the fighter’s chain that he had just received after Hokit made his remark, per TMZ.
Hokit also had the chance to appear on “The Ariel Helwani Show” as a guest, where he gave his reasoning as to why he said it. The fighter clearly did not attend the show to apologize for what he said. In fact, Hokit seemed not to see anything wrong with his comment.
“I thought I was giving her a compliment. Michelle Obama being a man, that’s like she knows how to deal with adversity,” Hokit said at 15:26 of this podcast episode. “She knows how to work hard like a man.”
Helwani later asked the fighter if he regretted sharing his comment, to which Hokit said, “Oh, never. You’ll never hear me backtrack from what I say.”
MORE: Fact-checking the Daniel Cormier-Eric Trump viral exchange
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