Curtis Blaydes vs. Josh Hokit
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Blaydes (-142), Hokit (+120)

Round 1
After alternating wins and losses the last few years, the UFC heavyweight takedown leader Blaydes (19-5, 1 NC; 14-5, 1 NC UFC) is at a real crossroads at the age of 35. While he still has plenty of time left on the clock, his five knockout losses paint a picture of a beard that is more than willing to crack. Rather than face another top-five-level adversary, he goes way down the lineup to welcome the brash, outspoken Hokit (8-0, 2-0 UFC) to the elite of the division. It’s sink or swim for “The Incredible Hok,” who put his name in headlines this week not for his credentials but because of his antics at media day and the weigh-ins. Referee Herb Dean draws the charge for this heavyweight affair. With all the strange bad blood brewing between them, largely because of what Hokit had to say recently, there is no touch of gloves.
Hokit practically sprints out of his corner hurling a big right hand, and Blaydes ducks the first but takes the second right on the chin. Blaydes responds with a single-leg takedown attempt, and Hokit stuffs it and flicks him the middle finger. Hokit gets caught when going wild, and he wobbles and swings his way forward and staggers Blaydes and busts his nose to the side. Hokit is swinging with reckless abandon, hurting Blaydes a few times and gashing Blaydes open. Blaydes drops to his hands and posts off to stand up, and Hokit runs at him with his hands down punching him as hard as he can. Blaydes ties him up and drags him to the floor from behind, and he shells Hokit on the sides of the head until Hoki wall-walks by pulling his fingers in the fencing. Dean admonishes him for the foul, and Blaydes pulls him away from it to throw him down. Blaydes keeps hold of him and wears on him, and on his second effort, he drags Hokit to the floor. Hokit is breathing hard and still holding the fence and top of the cage, and Blaydes works him over from under the armpits and the backs of the thighs.
Blaydes transitions to a single, but he cannot get the leg to drag him down. Blaydes boxes Hokit up, who wanders away and flips Blaydes off again. Blaydes jabs and staggers Hokit, who is starting to fade and runs away. Hokit may be playing possum, but Blaydes lets him have it with a frenetic flurry of fists that rivals some of the craziest heavyweight action one could ever see. Blaydes jackhammers Hokit with uppercut after unanswered uppercut, batting Hokit’s head around like a piñata. Hokit hangs on for dear life while Blaydes slows himself down to not gas himself, and both men are sucking serious wind four minutes in. Blaydes punches Hokit in the stomach a few times until they separate, and Hokit once more displays his middle finger. Blaydes walks him down and knocks his mouthpiece out, shelling him with an uppercut and a vicious elbow. Hokit flips one more bird as the round ends, and he raises his arm in the air to drink in the cheers from the crowd. What a ludicrous round that was.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Blaydes
Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Blaydes
Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Blaydes

Round 2
Who has more left in the tank after a ridiculous five-minute sprint? Blaydes starts off landing first with a stiff right hand, and Hokit walks him down and busts him in the jaw with his own overhand right. Hokit has his hands low and just wants to brawl, drawing Blaydes into exchanges and stifling the first takedown shot from Blaydes. When he stands up, he flips Blaydes off. Blaydes sticks out his jab and follows one or two, while Hokit lumbers at him and cracks him with an uppercut. Hokit hurls back with a right hand that staggers Blaydes, who is bloodied and bruised but still in this fight. Hokit backs him to the fence and starts delivering fierce uppercuts until he is forced to tie up. Blaydes punches to break out of the clinch, and Hokit gets him back to the body with a right hand and a knee. Blaydes stuns him with a right, Hokit’s head wobbling around like a children’s play toy. Hokit still comes forward and is willing to trade, so Blaydes welcomes this and uppercuts him repeatedly to the chin and midsection.
Blaydes digs a few more to the body before they split up, and he gets knocked back with a one-two. Hokit follows with two more, and Blaydes is on baby deer legs slipping and stumbling across the Octagon. Hokit unleashes a fury and hurts Blaydes for the umpteenth time, and Blaydes is impossibly tough as he takes undefended shots. Blaydes rushes into action and connects with a long stretch of surprisingly powerful punches, and Hokit does not react well when receiving them but still has the wherewithal to keep trading. Hokit goes for a clinch, and Blaydes thanks him for this by elbowing him and driving him a number of uppercuts to the chest and stomach. Hokit hangs on while Blaydes keeps busting him in the chops with uppercuts, and it is Hokit who forces the separation and knees Blaydes flush in the face. Hokit gets off another knee to the belly, and he misses with an uppercut that would fell lesser men. Blaydes keeps to the clinch so he can offer uppercuts, and Hokit bashes him in the chin with a one-two and is met with an equally powerful one. Hokit dances back to his corner at the bell, middle finger waving, and this heavyweight slobberknocker is almost beyond description.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Hokit
Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Hokit
Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Hokit

Round 3
Hokit raises his arm in the air to pump up the crowd, and when the last round begins, he strides forward to engage. He catches Blaydes a few times, only for Blaydes to rattle his bones with a right hand and a low kick. Blaydes dives after a takedown and falls to the side, so he fights his way back up and proceeds to bash Hokit with punches until they clinch up again. Blaydes uppercuts the torso, while Hokit uses his knees and an elbow once. Blaydes is inspired to us the same for his “Razor” elbows, and he beats Hokit to the punch with a quick one-two. The fighters go punch-for-punch, with Hokit causing further damage as his jab has completely transformed Blaydes into a bloody mess. Blaydes lumbers forward behind two hooks, only one landing, and Hokit gathers a head of steam and connects with a clean uppercut. Hokit keeps his jab going, only stopping when Blaydes racks him up with a right hand. Hokit closes in to land elbows, and Blaydes does the same when in range.
Hokit eats one to land one, and he strings to more together and a knee after it. Elbows are exchanged on the inside, and Hokit breaks off and puts three fists on Blaydes’ face in rapid succession. Blaydes stings Hokit and backs him off, but he does not have the gas tank to hurt him badly. Hokit lands twice, Blaydes closes in to strike him back, and uppercuts come flying from both sides. Blaydes darts out behind a right hand, and he is greeted by a trio of punches. Defense is at a premium while strike totals are off the charts for heavyweights, and Blaydes takes a hard look at the clock that now reads 45 seconds. Hokit does the advancing, hurling punches until Blaydes hits him back. Hokit gets in an elbow when they are up close, and he knees and tees off on Blaydes against the fencing. Blaydes swings back with every thing he has left, and incredibly, these two heavyweights have reached the final bell in what only be described as one of the craziest fights in the history of the division—rivaling the likes of Frye-Takayama and Hunt-Silva. Everyone can now breathe a sigh of relief after that torrid sprint of a battle is over, and these two men can use some oxygen after a sure-fire “Fight of the Year” frontrunner. No matter the victor, Hokit proved that at just nine fights into his professional career, he can hang with the best heavyweights in the world right now.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Hokit (29-28 Hokit)
Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Hokit (29-28 Hokit)
Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Hokit (29-28 Hokit)

The Official Result
Josh Hokit def. Curtis Blaydes via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Denzel Freeman vs. Josh Hokit
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Hokit (-245), Freeman (+200)

Round 1
It’s an all-comic showdown as Marvel takes on DC in this heavyweight prelim. “The Incredible Hok” Hokit (7-0, 1-0 UFC) and his 100% finish rate aim to smash anyone getting in his way. A couple years older but having show the ability to go three full rounds if necessary, “Luke Fox” Freeman (7-1, 1-0 UFC) will hoist the mantle of Batwing. The big men will receive oversight from referee Mark Smith, who will keep things on the up-and-up between these destructive forces.
They do not touch gloves, as Hokit instead wants to bull-rush his opponent and dive after his legs for a takedown. Hokit lifts his man off the ground and gingerly deposits him to the mat, and he grazes the forehead with an elbow. Freeman scrambles to turn to his knees, and Hokit knees him in the side before wrenching him face-first to the mat. Freeman posts off his hands with Hokit behind him, and “The Incredible Hok” gets off a punch or two before Freeman scoots his way to the fence. Hokit hands on from behind but cannot keep Freeman down, although he trips his inside leg in hopes of grounding “Luke Fox” again. Freeman shoves him away and they reset in striking range. Hokit flicks out a jab that makes Freeman react poorly, and he probes the body with the front of his foot. Backing off Freeman with his big-swinging fists, Hokit walks his man down and hammers him with punches to the head and midsection. Freeman swings back valiantly, but Hokit drills him with a hard uppercut that drops him down to the floor.
Hokit briefly considers threatening with a choke from behind, but he elects to ground-and-pound the Kill Cliff FC fighter. Freeman keeps twisting and turning to show he is still intelligently defending himself and moving, and Hokit takes his foot off the gas so he does not burn out his energy reserves. Freeman clings to his opponent’s wrist to stifle some of the beating, and he gets pulled down to the mat again when hoping to escape. Hokit begins to spank Freeman a few times to draw a reaction out of the crowd, and Freeman explodes to his feet and drapes his arm over the cage wall. Smith largely admonishes him for this, and Freeman twists around and shoots in for a desperate takedown. Hokit busts him in the chops with an uppercut and easily spins him around and decides to let Freeman up, because Freeman appears out of gas four-ish minutes in. Freeman once more stands, and Hokit lays into him with knees and punches.
Freeman turns tail and runs away, and he gets smacked with a kick on his shoulder on the way out. Freeman stumbles and falls to a knee with one second left, and Hokit flips him the middle finger. Smith determines that even though Hokit was nowhere near “Luke Fox,” Freeman had physically surrendered by dropping to a knee just before the bell sounded and steps in.
The stoppage is an odd one, as the last strike was an off-balance body kick that careened off Freeman’s upper arm and seemingly not a fight-ending blow. Nevertheless, the stoppage stands, in what will appear to be a technical knockout due to a retirement. This makes Hokit, who has built a little momentum as an undefeated finisher with a penchant for off-the-wall interviews, $25K wealthier, and he dons sunglasses and a bandana reminiscent of the pro wrestlers of old. He proceeds to deliver a similarly wrestling-inspired interview that will definitely put him on the map, one that needs to be seen to be believed.

The Official Result
Luke Hokit def. Denzel Freeman R1 4:59 via TKO (Retirement)

Max Gimenis vs. Josh Hokit
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Hokit (-400); Gimenis (+300)

Round 1
Twelve wins, 11 finishes for these two debuting goliaths immediately put referee Mark Smith on notice as the prelims roll on. Hokit (6-0, 0-0 UFC) posts all of his triumphs within the distance, while Brazilian by way of Maryland Gimenis (6-1, 0-0 UFC) has heard the final bell once as a pro. While the previous pairing was one many expected would go 15 full minutes, most prognosticators predict the first round is where this one will start and conclude. Gimenis offers a glove touch, but Hokit wants to fight.
Hokit introduces himself with a big right hand, knocking Gimenis all the way back to the wall. Gimenis gathers his thoughts, bounces off and hammers the front leg with a kick.
Hokit walks through them and zings a right hand down the pipe that sets Gimenis down. Gimenis explodes back to his feet, and as soon as his back is up against the wall, Hokit laces a right hand behind the ear that separates Gimenis from his senses. Gimenis bounces back down to his knees, partially still with it, and Hokit lays into him with booming punches. As Hokit obliterates Gimenis, Gimenis falls back to hit the canvas and Smith waves the fight off.
Gimenis’ leg bends awkwardly back in shades of Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Filipovic, but thankfully he does not appear injured from it. He comes back to, and it’s all over. “The Incredible Hok” blew through him in a little under a minute and maintains his 100% first-round finish rate. To make the most of his screen time, Hokit drops the mic by dropping a mighty pro wrestling-inspired promo that ends with a reference to Chael Sonnen as he calls out Valter Walker.

The Official Result
Josh Hokit def. Max Gimenis R1 0:56 via TKO (Punches)