Chael Sonnen sees superstar potential in Josh Hokit.
Hokit (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has experienced an ultra-fast rise to the upper echelon of the heavyweight division after a Fight of the Year contender against Curtis Blaydes and a first-round knockout of Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250. The outspoken 28-year-old landed himself a title shot against newly promoted undisputed champion Ciryl Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) at UFC 334 on Nov. 14, which Sonnen believes is well deserved.
"Josh Hokit is undefeated. Josh Hokit is ranked No. 4 in the world. Josh Hokit is the only guy that allows for some parity," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "He's the guy we want to see fight, so he's the right answer. And by the way, if he's got one coming to him, if he's been too
mouthy and you're going to get your ass kicked, they called the right guy. It's not like that's fun. It's not like that's a reward to get locked in the cage in front of the world with your mouthpiece and short pants with Ciryl. If Hokit's such a bad guy, this is exactly what he deserves."
Hokit has stirred up controversy with some of his bigoted comments and takes, includingcalling former First Lady Michelle Obama a man on the UFC White House stage, but Sonnen urges people to be patient with his rise.
"Josh Hokit is in the process of telling a story, and this story is going to take probably another year to come out," Sonnen said. "Before you pass any judgement of Josh Hokit that you want to disguise in broken up clips that were 45 seconds or less then you try to piece them all together, his story is going to take about another year. Let him finish. He's painting this masterpiece. Let him get it done and then pass judgement. The greats take a little while. He's getting warmed up. He's going somewhere with all of this. Just stand by."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Chael Sonnen urges patience on judging Josh Hokit until 'masterpiece' completed
