Overview
- At a UFC White House promotional press conference earlier this month in Newark, Josh Hokit insulted Alex Pereira’s mother, Ilia Topuria threw an object at Hokit, and security separated them before escorting Hokit offstage.
- Topuria later said the remarks made his blood boil and that he stepped in to defend Pereira, adding that someone could have been hurt if security had not intervened.
- Hokit mocked Topuria on X by calling him a sheltered little boy and repeated his line about Pereira’s mother, framing the phrase as harmless slang while drawing fresh backlash.
- UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion was caught off guard and stressed he does not want fighters injured over disputes between athletes who are not scheduled to face each other.
- All fighters remain booked for June 14 on the White House card, with Topuria defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje and Hokit set to fight Derrick Lewis, and a June 12 press conference will put the new security posture to the test.