Pereira praises Topuria for stepping in as Hokit's trash talk caught him off guard

Alex Pereira says he has never encountered anything quite like the scene that unfolded at the UFC White House pre-event press conference, where Josh Hokit directed a stream of insults at the light heavyweight champion despite the two not being scheduled to fight.

Pereira is set to face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC White House on June 14 at the South Lawn. The press conference, held ahead of the UFC 328 ceremonial weigh-ins, took a sharp turn when Hokit — who faces Derrick Lewis at the same event — began targeting Pereira. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria eventually stepped in to defend Pereira before the situation was separated and Hokit was removed.

When asked whose behaviour stood out more, Pereira was unambiguous in his answer. “Much more surprised with Topuria to stand up, defend me, staying by my side, because I think he felt bad that I don’t speak English, and many things were being said there — the translation was not sharp because it’s when it’s too simultaneous like that, it’s not too good,” Pereira told MMA Fighting through a translator. “So I think that I’m definitely impressed by him, by Ilia Topuria.”

As for Hokit’s tirade, Pereira says the moment passed him by in real time. “Well, honestly, I was just chill over there. I was not able to see too much stuff. Everything happened too fast. I just saw later,” he said. Asked whether he had ever experienced anything like it in his combat sports career, Pereira was blunt: “No, no, no. I never saw [anything like] this.”

Hokit, for his part, was unimpressed by Topuria’s intervention and felt Pereira was capable of handling the situation himself. The 27-year-old has made a rapid rise through the heavyweight division, going 3-0 in the UFC with three performance bonuses, most recently defeating Curtis Blaydes in what many called one of the best heavyweight bouts in UFC history at April’s UFC 327.

For Pereira, the stakes at UFC White House extend well beyond the interim belt. The Brazilian is competing at heavyweight for the first time, and the winner of his bout with Gane is expected to face undisputed champion Tom Aspinall in a unification fight later this year, subject to Aspinall’s recovery from the eye injury he suffered against Gane at UFC 321 last October.