Josh Hokit is speaking for the first time since insulting Michelle Obama during a UFC post-fight interview… but he stopped short of apologizing.
The 28-year-old heavyweight fighter posted on Instagram two days after UFC Freedom 250, where he called the former first lady “a man” after defeating Derrick Lewis by TKO.
“Strong and Courageous‼,” Hokit wrote. “The only two reasons I joined this sport.”
He continued, “If you exercise those every single day and back them up with hard work, the money and success will follow. I’m not here to be liked. I’m not here to be a role model. I don’t care. I’m here to succeed. I’ll do whatever it takes to get where I want to go, and if you don’t like it… Come beat me in a fight.”
On Saturday, June 13, moments after Hokit’s win at the White House South Lawn event honoring America’s 250th birthday.
“Michelle Obama is a man,” Hokit told interviewer Joe Rogan. “Am I right, America?”
Piece of shit @Josh_HokitUFC wants us to believe that his words was mere trash talk when in fact it was personal and Racist. Fuck him and the organization that allowed him to spew ignorance and hate. #BoycottTheUFC#BoycottJoshHokit pic.twitter.com/iDsdSSjSmh
— Jerry_Saiyan (@JerryWillResist) June 17, 2026
The White House did not denounce Hokit when CNN asked on Monday.
The View’s Sunny Hostin blasted Hokit live on the show.
“Black women have been slurred and made to feel that they were unattractive, made to feel masculine, made to feel that they didn’t have the femininity that a white woman would have. The crowd laughed at the statement, and the president of the United States smirked and never addressed what was said. That is beneath the dignity of the office of the president of the United States, and it’s beneath the dignity of the American people.”
In February, President Trump went viral after he posted an image depicting the Obamas as apes. At the time, then White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended, calling any backlash “fake outrage”