Dricus du Plessis sees Josh Hokit as a legitimate contender in the UFC heavyweight division.<\/p>\n
He might just want to tweak his act.<\/p>\n
Hokit has made plenty of headlines since making his UFC debut in 2025, both for his strong in-cage performances and his outside-of-the-cage antics. The 28-year-old was one of the most talked-about fighters following the recent UFC White House event after dominating longtime contender Derrick Lewis and then delivering a colorful post-fight speech that included a disgusting remark about former First Lady Michelle Obama.<\/p>\n
The comment received plenty of backlash, with UFC CEO Dana White calling Hokit\u2019s words \u201cnasty and false\u201d<\/a> and Daniel Cormier telling Hokit to \u201cget it together.\u201d<\/a> Du Plessis was asked for his thoughts on the incident and he told Fight Forecast<\/a> that there\u2019s a time and a place for shenanigans and Hokit chose poorly.<\/p>\n \u201cI think right now he\u2019s getting in his own way saying something stupid like that,\u201d du Plessis said. \u201cFreedom of speech one thing, but so irrelevant, and it\u2019s not even something that people are talking about right now. Read the room. It\u2019s not a topic of discussion. It\u2019s such a random joke he tried to make that didn\u2019t land at all. I think it was a mistake, but he\u2019s new in the game and that\u2019s how we learn. If you say something and you live by it, but that\u2019s not something anybody lives by, that was trying to be funny.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going to cost him. That comment\u2019s going to cost him. But that aside, I don\u2019t really care about that. If it costs him, great, if it doesn\u2019t, I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n Du Plessis went on to explain why Hokit\u2019s fighting should speak for itself. Hokit is undefeated in 10 pro bouts, with four UFC wins, including his beatdown of Lewis and a Fight of the Year-candidate win over Curtis Blaydes. Against Lewis, he showed off his wrestling and striking, ending the fight via knockout in the second round.<\/p>\n That performance showed du Plessis that Hokit is more than a one-dimensional grappler.<\/p>\n \u201cRound 2, I\u2019m thinking just take him down again, win this fight,\u201d du Plessis said. \u201cAnd he goes and just straight-up outstrikes him. Not just with wild punches, calculated punches. I was really impressed, the way he moved. His size is a problem there, but he\u2019s not trying to overpower these guys. What he\u2019s doing is using volume, footwork, his speed, and agility to beat these guys, because at heavyweight not a lot of guys have great wrestling. He does. So he always has that in his back pocket.<\/p>\n \u201dNow, with that kind of striking, I\u2019m a fan. I\u2019m a fan of his fighting, 100 percent, he\u2019s very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n Du Plessis is no stranger to controversies when it comes to selling a fight, with his past feud against Israel Adesanya drawing a range of reactions. Well before they eventually fought at UFC 305, du Plessis stoked the flames of a feud by claiming he was more African than the Nigerian-born Adesanya, who trains and resides in New Zealand. Adesanya responded by saying he would \u201cdrag [du Plessis\u2019 carcass across South Africa.\u201c<\/a> The two later resolved their beef after du Plessis defeated Adesanya in a championship bout.<\/p>\n Asked for what advice he\u2019d give Hokit, du Plessis suggested he find the right balance when it comes to his character work.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t seen anything like this before,\u201d du Plessis said. \u201cMaybe in WWE, but it\u2019s borderline into being weird. It\u2019s borderline for me to I don\u2019t want to watch it. When he has the mic, I don\u2019t want to see it, it\u2019s too intense and the antics it\u2019s too much, I do believe so.<\/p>\n \u201cI see what he\u2019s going for, like maybe a Colby Covington, but he\u2019s trying too hard a little I think. Just turn it down a notch. Maybe between a Covington and a Chael Sonnen, that\u2019s what I see. But they got it, when they did it, they did it right. I think he\u2019s trying to crate something new and for me, it\u2019s not working, but with the fight style I have no advice for him. Keep on going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dricus du Plessis sees Josh Hokit as a legitimate contender in the UFC heavyweight division. 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