Жош Хокитын амжилт болон UFC-ийн хүнд жингийн өнөөгийн нөхцөл байдлын тухай

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you’ve had a good week and are all set for a big card this weekend.

On Monday I asked you all for questions and you delivered, as you always do. There were a lot of questions about the heavyweight main event this weekend. We also had some questions about things further down the card.

Scroll down to see what we thought of your questions and please jump into the comments to tell us all how right we are.

Hokimania

Question: How unentertaining and representative of what is wrong with the fan base, or dare I say society, is Hokit and why has he been given the chances he has. Imagine he wins?? (Chucs)

Jesse Holland: It’s kind of sad that Hokit is known for his goofball shtick and not his talent because he’s a very entertaining fighter and a great addition to the stagnant heavyweight division. I don’t find him particularly amusing but his antics don’t bother me. From what I’ve heard, he’s actually a regular dude in real life and just wants to get his bag and go home. I’m more troubled by losers like Sean Strickland, because “Tarzan” really believes (and champions) the racist, homophobic rhetoric he spews on social media.

Andrew Richardson: I would argue it’s more about Hokit being an actual young talent than his antics. UFC is giving big opportunities to jump up the rankings to every random Heavyweight the wins his debut — Hokit is just the guy who capitalized.

Thomas Myers: I don’t think it’s a great reflection on society, but we are dealing with combat sports fans, so, contextually I am not surprised by anything at this point. Dana White has made it pretty clear he’s not a Hokit fan, but he is still challenging him and giving him more opportunities because he’s earned them inside the cage despite the nonsense he spouts outside of it. And speaking of that nonsense, it more than likely moves the needle, gets people clicking and sharing, which is exactly what White and Co. love to see, regardless of how they get measurable results.

Alex Behunin: While I do believe Volkov deserved it more than Hokit, Hokit did work his way to the title by putting on the best fight of the year but also talking his way into it.

As for the fanbase, it’s awful right now. The toxicity is out of control – it could be that I’m on social media too much, but boy oh boy, it’s bad.

Cage fighting is always going to produce broken individuals – but it sure feels like their ugly personalities are being spotlighted way brighter than before.

Dan Hiergesell: Josh Hokit is talented. That’s not up for debate. He’s a former standout collegiate wrestler and football player. Hokit’s athletic abilities took him as far as the National Football League (NFL). Pretty impressive stuff. He has carried that success into the Octagon and has proven himself against some dangerous opponents in the UFC’s heavyweight division. I don’t think all of that should be overlooked, but at the end of the day his ability to talk and create drama is the reason why he’s fighting for the title this weekend in New York City. Fans either want to see Hokit win or eat crow, but they’ll tune in. Dana White knows that. UFC knows that. And Josh Hokit knows that. If he beats Ciryl Gane, it only gets worse!

Adam Guillen: Hokit is like a car wreck, it’s terrible but you can’t look away. His schtick isn’t original by any means, but he saw a void that was missing (Sonnen and Colby) and he’s filling it nicely. Dana can say all he wants that he’s not a fan, but he is drawing clicks and eyeballs, hence the opportunities. It’s business, not personal. Plus, he can actually fight.

Tim Edwards: He’s not my cup of tea, but I’m past the point of being too upset about that. He says very gross things, but this is a sport that has tolerated guys who have done very gross things. If you put a gun to my head I’d rather spend time with Hokit than Conor McGregor, Gable Steveson, Greg Hardy and the like. All that being said, Hokit’s shtick doesn’t work without the wild fight with Curtis Blaydes. If he was doing all this pantomime and painfully affected and rehearsed character work, without delivering in fights then he wouldn’t sniff a main event let alone White House and MSG cards.

I actually don’t think he’s that popular of a character. I think he’s popular with the brass because he gives them what they want, UFC fights that get the same reaction as Power Slap clips. That all White cares about these days (when it comes to what happens inside a cage).

Never Believe His Lies

Question: Further and related, what the hell is DW talking about how he hates and doesn’t agree with what Hokit says but still gives him a shot?? (Chucs)

Jesse Holland: Josh Hokit is a dork who lands one joke out of ten. I’m not sure that’s enough to keep him blacklisted because he’s also scored four post-fight performance bonuses in four trips to the Octagon. For all his cringe, Hokit delivers inside the cage.

Andrew Richardson: It’s so obviously a troll job that I find it hard to get upset.

Alex Behunin: Dana secretly loves him because he’s bringing eyeballs.

Thomas Myers: See above: Hokit is good for business.

Tim Edwards: I actually believe him. Like I said above, I think White just wants the most viral fights possible and whether you are a literal clown like Hokit or a bland Dagestani doesn’t matter. If you’re knocking guys out cold, breaking limbs or bathing in blood you’re going to get ahead in this era of fighting.

Foul Frenzy

Q: How many fouls does Ciryl Gane hit Josh Hokit with this weekend? Does Hokit even have a shot at winning? (Igl00Man)

Jesse Holland: Josh Hokit is going to follow the wrestling blueprint from Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou at UFC 334 and probably win. I would say for every three takedown attempts, Hokit absorbs two shots to the back of the dome.

Thomas Myers: I’m going with two eye pokes, a nut shot and three fence grabs.

Andrew Richardson: Hot take: Hokit throws the first eye poke!

Alex Behunin: 2 – Eye poke and low blow. If Hokit can take Gane down, yes, he has a big chance.

Ryan Harkness: 55 eye pokes 55 groin shots 55 back of the head shots 55 cage pulls 55 glove grabs 100 soccer kicks.

Tim Edwards: Hokit is the king of going out on a limb to try and get attention. He’s desperate to be a walking talking meme. Problem is, so much of his stuff is just not funny and comes off as extremely inauthentic. I think he might do something silly in this fight, like try and eye poke Ciryl Gane early for the lolz. If that happens, it could derail the whole fight (I don’t think Hokit thinks about consequences, though).

Johnny Walker 2.0

Q: Is it all coming together for Johnny Walker now? He has all the physical ability at HW, and now he can take shots from heavier guys who would have flatlined him at LHW, with my guess being the weight cutting to LHW was affecting his ability to take a shot. Is he a potential title challenger at HW? (Igl00Man)

Jesse Holland: Heavyweight Johnny Walker is a low-rent Overeem. Looks great on the scale and will use his size and strength to knock around mid-card competition. Unfortunately, I expect him to fold like my eighth-grade Trapper Keeper when he gets into the division Top 5.

Andrew Richardson: Potential title challenger? Sure. Why not. Heavyweight is a low bar; Derrick Lewis fought for the belt after all. Potential title winner? No shot.

Thomas Myers: I am totally shocked his chin held up AND he was able to dent Acosta’s granite beard. Never say never, especially at Heavyweight; however, I don’t see him ever wearing UFC gold around his waist.

Alex Behunin: I’m surprised at the success he is having at Heavyweight to be honest. His chin was always the question mark about going up and Waldo sure tested it.
I’m not ready to call him a potential title challenger until he fights Pavlovich or Blaydes.

Ryan Harkness: Walker was in the wrong weight class and training at the wrong gym. He spent years at SBG Ireland working alongside a lot of great talent … at lower weight classes. Now he’s at heavyweight, working with a heavyweight coach in Ray Sefo, training alongside quality heavyweights like Alexander Volkov. I don’t expect this to make him unstoppable, but I’m not surprised his sudden string of good career moves has added up to success in the cage.

Tim Edwards: I’m still not sold on Walker in this division. There’s a lot more heavy hitters he’s going to meet up here and I think it’s just a matter of time someone makes him look like a Wallace and Gromit character again.

Future Champs

Q: I asked this question a few months ago and I’m interested to see how answers have changed since, because I think someone picked Amoslov last time: If you had to pick one currently unranked fighter, from any division, to be a future champion, who would it be? (Casual_Monk)

Jesse Holland: Brazilian smashing machine Mateus Soares is just 22 years old and already a bull in the 135-pound china shop. I think he makes a run at bantamweight, loses because he’s small, then drops down to flyweight and takes the title.

Andrew Richardson: This is such a hard question. I feel like Gable Steveson or Anthony Wint are still the “best” answers just because Heavyweight is such a wide open field.

Alex Behunin: I believe I picked Gable last time. But I’m all in on Damian Pinas at Middleweight and Bilal Hassan at Flyweight. Van vs. Hassan???? TAKE MY MONEY.

Dan Hiergesell: The UFC’s flyweight division has really evolved of late and one of the biggest names to keep an eye out for is Imanol Rodriguez. The 26-year-old Rodriguez has been on a tear over the past year and with the coaching of Daniel Cormier he could one day threaten Joshua Van for the UFC flyweight throne.

Thomas Myers: I am all aboard the Damian Pinas hype train. Elijah Smith looks like such a major problem, too. And how about Jacobe Smith? I’m lazy and didn’t check to see if he’s (un)ranked after his most recent performance.

Tim Edwards: There’s a lot of guys with a lot of hype around them right now. The hype, I believe, is a product of this Paramount+ era. At this point our roster is almost entirely made of Contender Series grads. Those fighters got contracts because they finish people. And a lot of them are getting matched against guys signed right off regionals or guys who are on the decline. This is your recipe for viral KOs. A lot of the names I could mention fit this bill: Damian Pinas, Elijah Smith, Jacobe Smith, Bilal Hasan, Ryan Gandra, etc. Of these names, I think Jacobe Smith might be the best shot at being a future champ, because he has the wrestling and the good team around him. I like Imanol Rodriguez, too, for the same reasons.

Stacked (for once)

Q: This upcoming UFC has some sneaky good prelim fights, which one are you looking forward to most? (Jack Reacharound)

Jesse Holland: The lightweight bout between Jim Miller and Terrance McKinney is one I have my eye on. Both guys bring it, win or lose, and it’s an interesting contrast of styles. Miller at +165 is a tempting offer despite his age and wear-and-tear.

Andrew Richardson: I really like Melquizael Costa, and Jared Gordon can be trusted upon to make it a scrap. That should be fun! Agree with JH as well.

Alex Behunin: Dober vs. Duncan is going to be violent. Donte Johnson vs. Almeida is going to be fun too. I’m looking forward to seeing Bia Mesquita.

Thomas Myers: Drew Dober and Jim Miller never disappoint, win or lose. Hell, Terrance McKinney for that matter. So, yea, some real solid bangers to set up a fun main card – this is how it should be done! And, sadly, “Wonder Boy” losing another split decision is not something I will ever get excited about.

Dan Hiergesell: If UFC 334 is going to be Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson’s last fight then it’s a must watch. Thompson may not be what he once was, but he’ll go down as one of the best strikers in UFC welterweight history. The 43-year-old Thompson will have a good chance to go out on a win when he squares off with Charles Radtke.

Tim Edwards: I’m circling that Dober vs. Duncan fight.

Where are the ladies barn-burners?

Q: With Zhang MIA, Shevchenko out until at least next summer, and most women putting in rather boring fights, at least in my opinion, is there anything that interests you in WMMA? Will Harrison v Nunes give us a much needed barnburner, or are the wars of Zhang v Jedrzejczyk a thing of the past? (RookieWannaBe)

Jesse Holland: Women’s MMA suffers from the same problem as men’s MMA but the ladies only have three divisions so it’s far more pronounced. The big stars rarely fight and matchmakers keep recycling the same contenders. I thought Bella Mir would give us something to talk about in 2027 but she shit the bed on “Contender Series” and her conqueror, Alex Apodaca, is nowhere to be found.

Alex Behunin: The last couple weeks have been shit for women’s fights – examples being Santos vs. Santos & Suarez vs. Jandiroba. BUT I will say there has been a ton of excellent finishes this year, which gives me some glimmer of hope. Grasso’s KO/SUB of Barber, O’Neill’s slick submission, Denis Gomes’ elbow KO. Also, Carli Judice is all violence.

Harrison vs. Nunes should be fun.

Ryan Harkness: Women’s MMA is in a similar funk flyweight was years ago when there were no compelling contenders and a general vibe from the promotion and fans alike that the division might be a waste of time. I’m hoping that it can turn things around just like the men’s 125 pound division did, but it’ll take some effort from the UFC in the form of smart talent turnover, AND some effort from the women to show up and throw down. It’s been a rough couple of years to be a WMMA fan. I don’t see anything on the horizon that points to an improved 2027, but I’d love to be wrong.

Adam Guillen: Nunes and Harrison will be a good scrap. After that, I can’t think of any other women’s fight that gets me hyped whatsoever except for maybe Dern vs. Suarez. But that is far from a super fight.

Thomas Myers: I feel like this is Rousey vs. Carano-esque – fight should have happened three years ago. Nunes, if I am not mistaken, is/was dealing with nerve damage in her lower half and Harrison is coming off “paralyzing” neck surgery. These two women are warriors and their bodies are at the brink. So, no, I do not think this kick starts anything. I’m really excited about Alexia Thainara, Fatima Klein … even Carli Judice. I think UFC needs to re-jigger its approach, maybe even pull the trigger on a “face” like Dakota Ditcheva.

Tim Edwards: I think Harrison vs. Nunes could be a real stinker, with Harrison pressing Nunes into the fence for most of it and failing to get take downs. There are some exciting women out there right now, though. Tommy lists some good ones, but I’ll add Shanelle Dyer, Denise Gomes, Lucia Szabova, Michelle Montague and Bia Mesquita (who fights this weekend) to the mix. There’s potential for some great fights in the future for sure.

Landscape for Topuria at 145

Q: If Ilia stayed at 145, or decides to return, how do you think a matchup between him and Jean Silva would go? It’s one of the most intriguing fights. Both formidable strikers with huge power. (FightFan)

Jesse Holland: I’m not as high on Jean Silva as everyone else and I think he’s more sizzle than steak. He’s only faced one featherweight who is currently ranked in the division Top 5 and he got smoked. Fun fighter? Absolutely. Dangerous on the feet? No question. But Ilia Topuria has proven himself against the best featherweights in the world like Max Holloway and Alex Volkanovski. Sorry, he slaughters Silva.

Andrew Richardson: I, conversely, am very high on Jean Silva and think he’s a future champ. That said, there isn’t a Featherweight past or present that I would favor over Ilia Topuria (assuming he recovers well from the Gaethje loss).

Alex Behunin: I personally think Ilia Topuria does ugly things to Jean Silva. Topuria at Featherweight was a once-in-a-generation destroyer. Unfortunately, the weight cuts took too much out of him, so he’s never going back.

Ryan Harkness: I think it’s pride more than size that will keep Topuria from returning to 145 should he end up getting brutalized once more by Justin Gaethje or sizemogged by Paddy Pimblett. We’ll probably never get to see Silva vs. Topuria, but if we did I’d predict Topuria in an entertaining but short scrap. Silva is just too wild and Topuria too technical for it to go down any other way.

Thomas Myers: I think Ilia would wreck him – he hits so different, especially at 145 pounds. I also think Silva needs to put some real work in the cage, he would not deserve a shot at Topuria based on his current resume anytime soon.

Adam Guillen: I honestly think Topuria has his way with Silva. Ilia is too controlled, crisp and precise with his striking, while Silva is a wild man at times. Ilia will capitalize on his over-aggressiveness and knock him out.

Quick hits

Q: Why is no one talking about Fernando’s illegal knee against Elekana? It was obvious, it was on replay and then………….nothing, no one talked about it and it totally changed the fight. a. Also how many notes did Gane make about Fernando’s multiple fouls that only cost him one “warning”? (LoneCowboy)

Jesse Holland: No one is talking about it because no one cares. I think if the bout had higher stakes or was for a title, there would be a little more noise. In this case, it’s “Sorry you got screwed, better luck next time.”

Andrew Richardson: Adding to Jesse’s explanation, Fernanda was also putting belt to ass for most of the fight prior to the knee. Makes it harder to be upset …

Alex Behunin: Because that card was ass and everyone has already forgotten about it.

Q: Does Patrick get thad with a win? (SRShelton)

Jesse Holland: Here’s proof that I’m old and out of touch, I have no idea what “thad” means.

Andrew Richardson: I’m younger than JH but equally out of touch.

Thomas Myers: What?

Alex Behunin: While I can’t wait until they eventually fight, I think Patrick should fight one more time after this weekend before getting Thad. Perhaps Magomed Umalatov?

Tim Edwards: What is your role at PFL?

Q: Is it just me or is there a lack of cardio now? Seems like nowadays these guys gas out way quicker, even in the lighter classes. (BootyLam)

Andrew Richardson: I haven’t noticed that, but maybe people are hitting the body more?

Thomas Myers: Painting with a broad brush, but Brazilians and Heavyweights seem to have the most cardio issues historically. I haven’t really noticed an emerging cardio issue beyond my anecdotal stereotype.

Q: If the UFC decides to poach Vadim Nemkov from the dying Piffle, what would his ceiling in the UFC be? (Igl00Man)

Alex Behunin: I think his ceiling at Light Heavyweight would be champion. At Heavyweight … top 5?

Q: If Belal hadn’t pulled out of the Shavkat fight, where would 170 be right now? (cavemancomputer)

Andrew Richardson: Do Shavkat’s knees hold up in this fantasy? Otherwise, we end up with Islam holding the belt again.

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