Topline
Fighter Jos Hokit made a crude remark about former First Lady Michelle Obama while being interviewed after winning his bout during the controversial UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House lawn on Sunday night, which saw several high-profile attendees, including celebrities, athletes, billionaires and political leaders.
Josh Hokit speaks to Joe Rogan following his win in a heavyweight fight during the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Zuffa LLCKey Facts
The show began after a short weather delay and saw seven bouts on the card and ended with American fighter Justin Gaethje pulling off an upset win in the main event against Georgian Ilia Topuria to claim the Lightweight Championship.
One of the most controversial events took place after a mid-card fight, when Jos Hokit was interviewed in the octagon by UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan following his win over Derrick Lewis.
Hokit ended the interview by blurting out a right-wing conspiracy theory, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
Rogan appeared to be smiling but did not address the comments and ended the interview, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Hokit.”
Before the fight, Hokit presented the president—who was seated ringside—with what appeared to be a gold chain with an encased trading card.
What Do We Know About The Daniel Cormier Controversy?
An alleged X post made by UFC commentator and former Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier hours before the event triggered another controversy before the fight. The now-deleted post included screenshots that claimed to show text messages from the president’s son, Eric Trump, asking Cormier if any of the fights at the UFC White House event were rigged. The post was captioned: “The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about. I will not tolerate this type of insider behavior. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event.” However, the alleged text messages were quickly denied by Eric Trump and were swiftly deleted from Cormier’s timeline. Responding to a screengrab of the alleged post, the president’s son wrote: “This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary.” He followed this up by tweeting: “We are aware of the fake, AI generated screenshots being circulated online. I have never spoken to Daniel. He has since deleted his post, which confirms it was clearly fabricated.” But the X post carried a community report that read “Multiple journalists and eyewitnesses confirm Daniel Cormier posted the screenshots himself before deleting them.” Cormier also issued an X post saying: “Are people really this dumb?” It is unclear if the MMA star and commentator actually made the alleged post or if his account was hacked.
Uninvited UFC Champion Removed After Sneaking Into Event
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland managed to sneak into a UFC Fan Fest event at the Ellipse near the White House on Sunday after previously claiming he was banned from attending the show. The fighter shared a clip of himself entering the event on his Instagram page and was later spotted jumping into the ring and waving at cheering fans. He was eventually escorted out of the event by armed law enforcement officials and reports suggest he may face disorderly conduct charges. The fighter, an avid Trump supporter for years, has recently criticized the president’s war with Iran while attacking Israel. While replying to a fan on Instagram on why he was not invited to the White House event, Strickland said: “I made fun of Israel and Epstein.” The fighter later claimed he was “not cleared” by the White House.
Who Were The Big Names In Attedance At UFC Freedom 250?
President Donald Trump entered the event flanked by UFC President and prominent supporter Dana White, and he then sat in the front row alongside the UFC boss, his wife, Melania and some other family members. Midway through the event, the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to the President, who turned 80 on Sunday. There were dozens of other high-profile attendees at the event, including billionaire and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—a big UFC and MMA fan—who greeted the president along with his wife, Priscilla Chan. The president was also seen sitting next to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison. The UFC event was livestreamed on Ellison’s streaming platform Paramount+. Top members of the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, FBI Director Kash Patel and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth were also seen at the event. Soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, star boxer Tyson Fury and WWE superstar Roman Reigns were among the top athletes in attendance.
crucial quote
In a Truth Social post made on Monday morning, Trump wrote: “The UFC at the White House last night was incredible. The weather was scheduled to be horrendous, and it turned out to be PERFECT! So much for weather predicting…The White House has never looked more beautiful. The setting was unsurpassed! Congratulations to Dana White, and his unbelievable UFC. One of the most exciting days in the History of our fabled White House!”