Hokit claims Topuria's brutal training style left him exposed against Gaethje

Josh Hokit has offered a pointed theory for why Ilia Topuria suffered the first professional loss of his career, suggesting the former lightweight champion’s habit of going too hard on training partners ultimately cost him his title.

Topuria entered UFC White House as a heavy favourite to defend his lightweight belt against Justin Gaethje, but Gaethje dominated the contest and forced Topuria’s corner to throw in the towel at the end of the fourth round — one of the most significant upsets in recent UFC history.

Hokit, who knocked out Derrick Lewis on the same card, laid out his analysis on The Ariel Helwani Show. His argument centres on a training dynamic he believes left Topuria unable to sharpen his distance management and timing ahead of the fight.

“Topuria makes the mistake of, maybe he trains a little too hard in the sense of, he beats up his teammates, and so now the teammates fear him, where now he’s not getting a certain look,” Hokit said. “That’s the downfall of Topuria. If you’re always hitting people in the liver, you’re always dropping your teammates, the teammates are kind of shelled up or scared to hit you because, rightfully so, no one wants to be dropped in practice.”

Hokit was careful to distinguish his own approach, insisting he draws a line between training hard and endangering teammates. “I do train hard, but I don’t think I would ever hurt any of my teammates,” he said. “You want a healthy balance in practice where the guy is still trying to test you, so you have to practice your defense. I think that’s why his distance and timing were off, because of that.”

The two fighters are no strangers to friction. At the pre-fight press conference for UFC White House, Hokit directed an insult at Alex Pereira, prompting Topuria — seated beside Pereira — to stand up in his friend’s defence. Topuria threw a glass of water at Hokit, who was subsequently escorted from the room. Hokit also directed personal remarks at Topuria during the same media event.

Topuria now sits at 17-1 professionally, while Hokit remains unbeaten at 10-0 following his knockout of Lewis.