Overview
- At a tense press conference on May 8 in Newark, Josh Hokit taunted Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria, prompting Topuria to move toward Hokit and security to remove Hokit before a brawl started.
- Sean O’Malley, who sat feet from Pereira and Topuria, told reporters on June 1 that he regretted not backing Hokit and said “I f*cked up” after reviewing the viral footage.
- O’Malley said he missed Hokit’s public criticism because he is off social media and that his close proximity to two feared knockout artists made him choose silence for safety.
- Hokit publicly attacked O’Malley on Twitter for not supporting him, and UFC CEO Dana White has said the promotion will rethink seating and tighten security for the June 12 and June 14 White House‑week events.
- Both O’Malley and Hokit remain on the June 14 White House card (O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi; Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis), raising pressure on the UFC to prevent on‑stage incidents while preserving promotional hype.