Josh Hokit remains one of the most polarizing figures in all of combat sports but he delivered a potential Fight of the Year performance to beat Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327.
Slugfest almost fails to encapsulate the sheer mayhem that unfolded in the octagon with Hokit busting up Blaydes through numerous exchanges but he was just unable to score the knockout blow. In return, Blaydes stayed in the fight and came right back at Hokit, wobbling the former college wrestler on several occasions.
But the difference really came down to speed and volume as Hokit just kept pouring on the punishment despite his conditioning nearly running out after the first round. In the end, the judges all scored the fight 29-28 for Hokit as he remains undefeated and picks up the biggest win of his career thus far.
“I toot my own horn and beat my own drum. But if you think he can beat me in a fist fight, boy is you dumb,” Hokit said after his win. “P.S. Alex Pereira, chama these nuts.”
Hokit came out guns blazing and immediately stunned Bladyes with a barrage of punches before flipping off the former interim heavyweight title challenger. Bladyes started firing back and he clipped Hokit with a series of straight punches that definitely wobbled the ex-NFL player.
But Hokit was undeterred and came right back at him with incredible speed as he cut up Blaydes with a series of nasty punches. Blaydes refused to go away and he found a way to survive before scoring a takedown to slow the action briefly.
With Hokit’s gas tank seemingly fading, Bladyes really started to put it on him with some powerful combinations in succession. Bladyes was blasting Hokit with punches and inside elbows but the always outspoken heavyweight refused to go down.
At the start of round two, Blaydes was also running on fumes and Hokit’s speed continued to plague him in many of the exchnages. As they moved into the clinch, Blaydes and Hokit were bombing away at each other with uppercuts.
Hokit then rushed forward with another blistering series of punches that had Blaydes seemingly out on his feet but then he decided to come right back at him with power of his own. Hokit backed off as Blaydes pursued him across the cage.
Somehow they made it to the third round with Blaydes doing work inside the clinch, punishing Hokit with elbows and punches to the body. When he finally broke away, Hokit managed to establish a good jab but Bladyes’ power was still stunning him whenever he connected.
With less than a minute remaining, Hokit unloaded a couple more right hands that snapped Bladyes’ head back and once again put him on rubber legs. Still, Blaydes came right back at him until there was a final flurry as time ran out.
While the fight was undeniably sloppy at moments, there’s no denying the heart and determination both men showed to survive all 15 minutes in the cage. Hokit got the job done and now he takes a huge step forward in what has largely been a lackluster heavyweight division outside of a few key fighters over the past few years.
Following his win, Hokit sent quite a message to Alex Pereira as he prepares to battle for the interim heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at the UFC White House card in June.
