BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The five-bedroom, five-bathroom house with a pool and palm trees that Josh Hokit owns sits inside an aptly named subdivision.
Legacy Estates.
Hokit, 29, continues to build his UFC legacy that now stretches across the country.
This week in New York, during a promotional blitz, he has lived up to his reputation as one of the most controversial and compelling fighters in mixed martial arts. Hokit (10-0, 4-0 UFC) will fight for the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane (14-2, 11-2 UFC) in the UFC 334 main event Saturday at Madison Square Garden (Paramount+).
Then there is San Joaquin Valley, the agricultural region in central California that is home to Bakersfield and a 6-foot-1, 230-pound lightning rod.
Hokit, an undersized heavyweight,
has created buzz and backlash in and out of the octagon. Unapologetically, he called Michelle Obama a man, said the same thing about basketball star Brittney Griner, and in a diss rap included a vulgar line about the former First Lady.
Retracing Hokit’s stops in San Joaquin Valley offers insight into who the fighter is, who offends again and again.
'Everybody was probably shocked'
Mark Hokit, the great uncle of Josh Hokit, stood on his front porch. He looked across the street at a beige stucco house in Wasco, about 30 miles northwest of Bakersfield.
It’s the home where Josh Hokit, along with his younger and older brothers and their parents, lived for about a decade, according to Mark Hokit and property records.
Wasco is the country’s top-producing city of roses. Josh Hokit’s father, Seth, owned a recycling center. It’s where Josh Hokit spread out a wrestling mat and practiced alongside other youth wrestlers, according to Mark Hokit.
"They worked their butts off," he said.
According to Mark Hokit, there’s nothing in the family history that could have prepared anyone for Josh Hokit’s comment about Michelle Obama after he won his June 14 fight vs. Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn.
"I think everybody was probably shocked," Mark Hokit said. "But at the same time, not surprised."
Not surprised, Mark Hokit explained, because Josh Hokit was already drawing attention for his outrageous remarks after his victories.
"Free speech," Mark Hokit said with a grin.
'He's not as crazy as some think'
Coach Gabe Schaefer stood outside the wrestling room at Clovis High School, about 100 miles north of Wasco.
The Hokit family moved to Clovis the year Josh entered his sophomore year so the boys could be part of a dominant wrestling program. Josh won a state championship in 2016 as a senior at Clovis, where Schaefer coached him. Hokit’s accomplishments are noted on the walls of the wrestling room and in the gym, where photos show him with bleach-blond hair.
"Drove him 10 hours to a wrestling tournament in Oregon, and he sang along with the radio the whole time," Schaefer recalled.
Schaefer pulled out his phone and shared a video of Josh Hokit crooning in a car full of other teammates. In addition to starring for the wrestling team, Hokit was a standout football player. He did the same at Fresno State, and Schaefer recalled when the father of a young wrestler asked Schaefer if Hokit would take a photo with his son. Hokit showed up with an autographed football and his receiving gloves for the boy.
"The kid was starstruck," Schaefer said.
Of Hokit, Schaefer said, "He’s a good dude. He’s not as crazy as some think."
'Josh foot the bill'
After four years at Fresno State, Hokit left the San Joaquin Valley.
First, he headed to the Bay Area, where he spent 2020 and 2021 on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad, followed by a brief stint with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. Then he turned his attention to MMA and headed for Las Vegas.
Christian Robertson said he trained with Hokit for about six months, and on short notice had a chance to make his pro debut, but ran into an issue.
"I could not afford my (fight-related expenses)," Robertson said. "It was $1,000. And Josh foot the bill."
Robertson also recalled Hokit taking a photo of Robertson and UFC broadcast star Joe Rogan.
"He had no desire to go up to Joe," Robertson said. "I think he was a bit nervous."
Now Hokit confidently stands next to Rogan and, with Rogan holding the microphone, says things that anger people and amuse others.
"He knows he’s going to sell a ticket," said Troy Steiner, the former wrestling coach at Fresno State. "But either way, they’re going to come watch him."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Josh Hokit's past, present clash as UFC 334 title fight nears
