Derrick Lewis says UFC White House press conference was ‘one of the craziest’ he’s been involved in
Derrick Lewis says the UFC White House press conference was one of the wildest he’s ever been a part of
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 08: (L-R) Josh Hokit has words with Ilia Topuria during the UFC Freedom 250 press conference at Prudential Center on May 08, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Derrick Lewis has been in the UFC for a long time and seen a lot, but he’s never seen someone quite like Josh Hokit. On Friday, the UFC held its first press conference for UFC White House, the marquee event of the summer, where Lewis will face Hokit in a preliminary heavyweight bout.
The presser featured all 14 fighters that will compete on the card, and mostly went according to plan, until Hokit got going. Hokit has risen to prominence over the past few months with a pro-wrestling persona, and “The Incredible Hok” was on full display on Friday, taking any chance he got to spew rhyming insults at Lewis and Alex Pereira. Hokit’s outlandish behavior eventually drew the ire of lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, and they nearly came to blows, leading to Hokit’s removal from the presser.
And even Lewis, who has over 30 fights in the UFC, was shocked at the whole ordeal. “I don’t know, it was crazy,” Lewis told Megan Olivi afterward. “It was probably one of the craziest press conferences I’ve been a part of.
” For all Hokit’s antics, they didn’t seem to have the desired effect of getting a reaction from Lewis. “The Black Beast” barely responded to Hokit during the presser and maintained afterward that he doesn’t have much to say about the man. “I really couldn’t hear nothing he was saying,” Lewis said.