Josh Hokit has turned his attention toward Alex Pereira during UFC White House fight week, repeatedly provoking the UFC star despite not being scheduled to face him.
Hokit is set to fight Derrick Lewis on the White House lawn this Sunday, June 14th, while Pereira has moved from 205 pounds to heavyweight and will compete for the interim heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250.
During fight week, Hokit insulted Pereira in an elevator at the fighter hotel and later went on a rant about him at a White House press conference in Newark, leading to the event ending early.
Pereira, who referred to the situation by saying, "He did cross a line," detailed what bothered him most: "I already saw guys trash talk [other] fighters, trash talk the father of the fighter, trash talk whatever, but never trash talk the mother. I don’t know how it is in America, but in Brazil, on the street code, you never talk about the mother … that’s like the last thing to happen to start a fight. But I think he did cross the line."
Pereira added that he does not plan to engage further: "Honestly, after the crap this guy has done, I’m not even going to be talking about him because other guys, I give them respect," and continued, "I help them to boost so we can build a fight. I’m gonna let him do his thing. Let him do his journey. Everything has a price, the time will come. But I’m not going to be here saying [he’ll be the] potential opponent or anything like that."
