After Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competitor Josh Hokit won his heavyweight fight against Derrick Lewis during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn on Sunday night, he concluded his victory interview with popular transphobic broadcaster Joe Rogan by declaring, “And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?”
Rogan didn’t respond to the comment, but ended the interview immediately afterward, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Hokit.” It’s not the first time that Hokit has claimed that the former First Lady is a man, and it’s just the latest instance of a UFC fighter using anti-LGBTQ+ comments to make headlines. Transgender activist and civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo called Hokit’s comment “Absolute gutter-level misogyny and racism.”
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Hokit’s match was one of seven fights that occurred during the nighttime event, which was part of the president’s planned events commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary that coincided with the president’s 80th birthday and Flag Day. At the official weigh-in the day before, Hokit wandered in unsteadily, as if drunk, with what was reported as “fake vomit” dripping off his beard onto his bare chest.
“So what, maybe I was drinking last night. Who wouldn’t be? I have a giant Black man that wants to knock me out,” Hokit told reporters, referring to his Sunday night competitor, Derrick Lewis.
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Hokit previously referred to Michelle Obama as a man after a May 2025 UFC fight. This unfounded conspiracy theory has been repeated by comedienne Joan Rivers, transphobic misinformation peddler Alex Jones, transphobic Daily Wire broadcaster Matt Walsh, the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., and even TLC singer Chilli.
Women of color have historically faced fake accusations that they’re male or transgender, PBS reported. Such insults and accusations are an example of misogynoir, anti-Black racism and sexism which projects hyper-masculine and aggressive traits onto Black women to dehumanize and defeminize them, justifying public abuse against them as well as disproportionate scrutiny of their gender by governing sports authorities and other public figures.
Hokit has also referred to lesbian WNBA icon Brittney Griner, a Black cisgender woman, as “a man.” He has also spoken against the participation of trans women in sports that are aligned with their gender identity. Hokit has said that trans women “belong” in the UFC octagon with him “because you need to get your a** whooped.”
Other UFC fighters have made anti-LGBTQ+ comments to generate outrage and publicity. In a February interview, UFC fighter Sean Strickland repeatedly used anti-gay slurs and said that straight athletes would beat up teammates who came out as gay, and earlier this month, he posted an AI-generated video of himself beating up a trans woman.
President Donald Trump purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of stock in TKO Group Holdings, the UFC’s parent company, last March while promoting the UFC Freedom 250 event. President Trump stands to profit from the event and related promotions surrounding it, MS NOW reported.
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