Josh Hokit has earned yet another critic because of his highly controversial remark. And this time, it’s from someone who is considered a legend in a sport the UFC heavyweight contender had to abandon. As most people know by now, ‘The Incredible Hok’ called former First Lady Michelle Obama a man after his win over Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250 card. So, condemnation quickly came pouring in. And now, NFL legend Cam Newton has joined the chorus. 

“In our culture, we don’t play about certain individuals. Certain people are untouchable,” Newton said on his 4th & 1 podcast. “If you utter anything disrespectful about an Obama, it doesn’t matter if it’s the daughters, it doesn’t matter if it’s the wife… They are some good people, they served this country well. See, that was an innocent bystander. But Mr. Josh, you’re going to stay away from that one. We don’t play about that one.

“Who knows whether he was in his right or wrong mind,” Newton added. “But at the end of the day… be very careful and be very mindful [of] the people who you ain’t cool with or who you don’t like. The fact that even Joe Rogan was taken aback. That was tasteless. You’re doing way too much. Brother, please think about what you said, because that was stupid.”

Newton’s outrage on the matter is understandable because of Obama’s contributions to the country. However, what’s even worse is that this isn’t the first time Hokit has done something like this. Hokit has a history of crossing the line. Even during his time in LFA, after defeating Eric Lunsford in May 2025, he had made the same remark about the former First Lady, according to Newsweek. 

If you need more examples, he also insulted Alex Pereira’s mother prior to the event and after the event without being provoked. The heavyweight went so far as to puke on himself during the weigh-in, all for the sake of promoting himself. So, now that he is all over the headlines, as he wanted, he escalated the matter further with his response to Newton.

“Tasteless lol,” he wrote on X. “I’d literally slap you tasteless, and you wouldn’t do anything about it.”

While Hokit isn’t backing down, the backlash refuses to die down either. Instead, many are now distancing themselves from the comment or publicly expressing their anger with it

Josh Hokit faces heat from the world

Besides Newton, several other political and non-political individuals condemned the remark. That includes UFC CEO Dana White, Robert Griffin III, Shane Gillis, Daniel Cormier, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, among others. Like in Newton’s case, Hokit responded to Cormier with a disrespectful message in response to his criticism. 

President Donald Trump, whose birthday coincided with the event and who was in attendance, has not commented either to defend Hokit or to condemn him. Instead, because of Hokit’s comment, the Trump administration has been wrapped up in the backlash. This was escalated when Barack Obama finally broke his silence, condemning the Trump administration for allowing Hokit to say what he did.

In the end, instead of increasing his popularity, his comment turned most of the country against him. It’s thanks to the UFC and Dana White’s grace that he hasn’t been fired because, let’s face it, if they wanted to, Hokit would be gone. Clearly, Josh Hokit is intent on making an enemy out of everyone. While an apology could do little to repair his image, the lack of it suggests he doesn’t regret his actions.