Dustin Poirier believes Josh Hokit delivered in a big way at UFC 327, praising the heavyweight for a breakout performance and showmanship on a stacked card this past Saturday.
Hokit defeated Curtis Blaydes by decision in his third UFC fight, earning both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses for a combined $200,000. The bout came on a night that also saw Carlos Ulberg knock out Jiri Prochazka to claim a vacant light heavyweight title, Paulo Costa hand Azamat Murzakanov his first loss, and Cub Swanson win his final fight.
“Listen, when stars start to align—you’ve seen it in Conor—when you talk the talk and walk the walk, you’ve seen ‘Sugar’ Sean [O’Malley], you’ve seen Chael Sonnen, we’ve seen it time and time again where guys talk the talk and then they walk the walk. And he just did it this week,” Poirier said.
Hokit’s rise has been rapid. He made his professional debut in 2023, was signed off Dana White’s Contender Series less than eight months before UFC 327, and faced Blaydes, who was ranked No. 5 heading into the event. “It’s crazy the timespan he’s made all this happen,” Poirier added. “I saw a stat earlier today, Curtis Blaydes was fighting Francis Ngannou in the UFC a year before [Hokit] made his mixed martial arts debut. To come this far in that short a time is incredible.”
Poirier also highlighted Hokit's attitude inside the cage, saying, “When you talk the way he’s been talking all week, you have to fight like that. You have to go out there and fight like that. He set a record for the most middle fingers.”
