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Josh Hokit | One Of One
Rising Heavyweight Prospect Returns At UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett Looking To Keep His Perfect Record Intact Against Denzel Freeman
“The Incredible Hulk, America’s last hope, the greatest of all time and before time was ever created.”
That’s how UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit characterizes himself. Whether you agree or disagree, his performances inside the Octagon have put him on a promising path early in his career.
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The 28-year-old began his athletic career as a wrestler and football player back in high school, continuing in both sports in college. Along the way, he earned NWCA second-team All-America honors and landed practice squad opportunities with the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.
After the Cardinals waived him in August 2022, Hokit decided to make a full-time transition to MMA and made his professional debut just seven months later. Although wrestling and football are common pipelines into the sport, Hokit is quick to point out that MMA is a different animal entirely.
“I’m in a real sport now, a real man’s sport,” Hokit. “This is why I choose to step into the Octagon. Those sports are for little babies.. This is a real man’s sport, and this is why I chose to do it. Football, wrestling, (they) don’t mean nothing in a fist fight.”
Hokit compiled a 5-0 record before earning a chance to compete in front of UFC brass on Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9 last August. It took the 28-year-old just two rounds to make his presence felt, stopping Guilherme Uriel with an onslaught of elbows and punching his ticket to the UFC.
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“Completely dominated,” White said after Hokit’s performance. “Broke him physically and mentally in the first round. He was done after the first, and you came in and finished him in the second. Congratulations, and welcome to the UFC.”
Hokit wasted no time making his promotional debut, accepting a matchup with fellow newcomer Max Gimenis in November. He came out swinging fast and heavy, narrowly missing on a few right hands before landing a powerful shot just 40 seconds into the round that briefly dropped Gimenis to the canvas. Moments after returning to his feet, Gimenis absorbed another blistering right hand that left him out on his feet. A flurry of follow-up shots sent him crashing back down, and that was all she wrote.
“I’m straight vicious,” Hokit said. “I’ll hit him with plates and dishes, leave him with eight stitches. This was a long time coming. All my life has prepared me for this moment right here.
“I know a special kid named Greg with a wooden leg. I snatched it off and beat him over the head with the peg. It is over for these heavyweights. January 24th, the whole world will see that I’m the truth.”
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That date marks the start of Hokit’s 2026 campaign as he steps back into the Octagon at UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett. The California-native will make his second walk in two months, squaring off with Denzel Freeman in what promises to be a violent heavyweight clash airing “on Paramount+, where I will leave these heavyweights in the dust.”
Like his debut, Hokit plans to lean on his quickness against Freeman, a trait increasingly essential among today’s elite heavyweights.
“Speed and endurance, so he needs to increase his insurance,” Hokit said. “He’s a dead man. But I feel good.”
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In speaking with UFC.com this weekend, two things were clear: Hokit has his sights set firmly on championship gold, and he intends to use Freeman as a living, breathing example to the rest of the division that he has officially arrived.
“I could walk on the sun and not even melt,” Hokit said. “I could wear the Golden Gate Bridge as my championship belt. That’s the statement I’m looking to make.”
UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 24, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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