American heavyweight Josh Hokit turned his UFC 327 media day slot right into a surreal one-man present, biking by way of totally different characters and stereotype‑laden jokes whereas barely addressing his precise combat with Curtis Blaydes.
Josh Hokit’s Hulk Hogan voice and “human centipede” riff
Hokit walked into the Miami media room carrying a stars‑and‑stripes bandana with sun shades and instantly slipped right into a gravelly Hulk Hogan-style promo voice, asking reporters, “You guys … down or would you like the Unimaginable Hulk, brother?” earlier than flexing and demanding, “How do I look?” as his coach assured him he appeared high-quality.
From there he launched right into a ugly monologue in regards to the heavyweight rankings, vowing to “take out quantity 4 and noticed off his head,” then “put it on Alex Pereira’s physique,” and “take quantity three and sew it to the anus of quantity two,” clearly nodding to horror movie “The Human Centipede.” He saved extending the bit, promising to sew “quantity two’s head … to the anus of primary,” after which parade this stitched‑collectively “human ‘cinnip’” on a leash in his yard as “the Unimaginable Hulk,” drawing awkward laughter and scattered applause within the room.
Staying within the wrestling‑fashion cadence, Hokit bellowed that he was in “Miami, Florida, oh yeah,” shouting about “20,000 folks, 20 million watching all over the world to see the Unimaginable Hulk” and promising to show he was “the most effective from the east to the west, to the outdated dying man, to the child on the breast.” He even broke right into a mock plea to his “Mama,” repeating that “the Unimaginable Hulk” was “the most effective, mama,” echoing traces he has used earlier than underneath his “Unimaginable Hok” persona in podcasts and regional interviews. The entire phase was framed like an over‑the‑prime professional‑wrestling promo, one thing Hokit has leaned into since his early “Unimaginable Hok” branding forward of his Contender Sequence run.
Change to “Mexican gangster” character
Mid‑scrum, Hokit abruptly dropped the Hulk Hogan voice, advised a teammate “Jared” to come back up, then stopped himself and introduced that “the [expletive] B’s popping out, canine,” earlier than snapping right into a stereotypical Mexican‑American gangster caricature he referred to as “the down vato.” In that accent he apologized that issues “received sort of bizarre, canine,” then bragged, “I’ve simply been selecting up ladies, canine, and beating up squirrels, canine,” establishing a crude punchline:
“How do you get a squirrel down from a tree, homie? You drop your pants and present them your nuts, homie.” He doubled down with ethnic wordplay, asking, “What do you name a Mexican that misplaced his automobile? Carlos,” and, “What do you name a Mexican that doesn’t like protein powder? No means, Jose,” jokes that landed to close silence from the assembled media.
Staying within the character, Hokit fielded a query a couple of hallway run‑in with gentle heavyweight title challenger Jiri Prochazka, insisting he was proving how “down” he was and declaring, “Chopping weight’s for cowards, homie … the down vato doesn’t reduce no weight, homie. Straight up, canine.”
That adopted an earlier viral clip from the fighter lodge the place Hokit, in the identical persona and accent, waved a toy lightsaber at Prochazka and threatened to chop him up and sew his head on Alex Pereira’s physique, persevering with the stitched‑physique storyline outdoors the press room.
Between the horror‑film imagery, cosplay confrontation and ethnic shtick, the efficiency drew criticism from followers and shops, with items describing the media‑day present as “weird,” “cringe” and “unhinged,” and questioning whether or not this sort of character work helps or hurts the UFC’s picture heading into UFC 327.
Hokit’s skit overshadowed the actual fact he’s strolling into a real sink‑or‑swim matchup this weekend towards Curtis Blaydes on the UFC 327 predominant card in Miami. The bout goes down Saturday, April 11 on the Kaseya Middle, with Blaydes bringing prime‑5 heavyweight expertise, a wrestling‑heavy fashion and wins over a number of former contenders, whereas Hokit arrives as an undefeated 8‑0 prospect with all his victories inside the gap and two speedy UFC knockouts.
For all of the discuss Hulks and “down vatos,” that is the primary time Hokit has been matched with an elite, ranked opponent, and the consequence will doubtless resolve whether or not his “Unimaginable Hok” act launches him into the heavyweight prime 10 or stalls towards a veteran who has already gone 5 onerous rounds with the division’s greatest.
