The UFC, by all accounts, pulled off an incredible card at the White House last month — until heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit stole the headlines with a racist smear toward former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The incident came after his win over Derrick Lewis on the White House lawn, during an interview with commentator Joe Rogan, as Hokit attempted to rally the crowd by stating that the former First Lady “is a man.” While Rogan did not interject in the moment, the pushback against Hokit was resounding from inside and outside the UFC in the aftermath of the event.
At the time, White called Hokit’s comment “nasty and false.”
Addressing the situation further this week on The Pivot, White expressed frustration toward Hokit for distracting from the event’s success, adding that anyone in America, regardless of their political affiliation, should agree Hokit’s smear was “f*cking gross.”
“It’s f*cking gross, right? Inappropriate. The timing of it, and everything,” White said.
“Obviously not the opinion of the UFC and not my opinion or anybody else that fought on that card. And it was a really unfortunate thing to happen on that night. When you sit this f*cking grand slam home run and have a perfect event in every way that it could be, you got a f*cking moronic, you know, it’s just, ugh. Other than that, it was a great f*cking night. What are you going to do?”
Dana White is asked about Josh Hokit’s comments about Michelle Obama at the UFC White House event.pic.twitter.com/WrUqQ6bkJc
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) July 21, 2026
Pressed by host Ryan Clark on the UFC and Paramount+ exposing viewers to a heinous viewpoint, White said he believed any reasonable American would agree Hokit crossed a line.
“Left and right can both look at that. You can’t tell me that everybody on the right were like, ‘Yeah she’s a man.’ People were like, ‘What an idiot,'” White said.
The UFC boss, a self-described free speech advocate, is notoriously loose in what he allows of his fighters. While he is unlikely to censor Hokit or punish him for the ugly smear, it could cost Hokit placement on future cards. And White continues to make it clear that while fighters are allowed to say what they wish, he will respond with equal force if he feels it necessary.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.