Josh Hokit won his bout at the UFC Freedom 250 event on Sunday night and then surprised the crowd with a shocking statement.
Hokit fought fellow heavyweight Derrick Lewis in the event, held on the White House lawn, and won. After the match, he gave an interview to Joe Rogan.
At the end of the interview, he said: “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
In videos posted online, some in the crowd could be heard laughing while others seemed to be surprised by the comments.
Rogan did not address the comments, saying only: “Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Hokit.”
The fight was streamed on Paramount+, whose parent company has been under scrutiny following its settlement of a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview as well as recent firings at the CBS newsmagazine of well-respected journalists including Scott Pelley and longtime executive producer Tanya Simon.
In addition to Trump and his wife, Melania, famous faces at the UFC fight included UFC CEO Dana White, Ari Emanuel, CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC; comedians Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe; Vice President JD Vance; Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Ivanka Trump; country singer Alexis Wilkins, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek; and boxer Tyson Fury.
