Josh Hokit has never been one to do things the conventional way, and his finish of Derrick Lewis at the White House event was quite controversial. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the heavyweight contender opened up about why he chose not to lock in what appeared to be a clean armbar submission attempt in the closing stages of the match.
“God forbid someone have a little fun in the cage,” Hokit said. “I already have an armbar finish in my career and I don’t know, submitting Derrick at the White House, I don’t think that would have sat right with me.”
Hokit explained that while the entry into the armbar was exactly what he was looking for, his intentions in the moment were not to secure a tap. He wanted to test Lewis psychologically first.
“I was going to see if he was just going to panic tap,” he said. “And then he also knows how to shove his shoulder where he could extend his arm a little bit more.”
Ultimately, the desire for a more dramatic finish took over.
“I didn’t want to for the match to end like that. I wanted to knock out the knockout artist,” Hokit said. “That was where my mind was at.”
When pressed on whether he had simply not tried to finish the submission, referencing commentary from Demetrious Johnson and Israel Adesanya suggesting he was playing around, Hokit confirmed that was accurate.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s what I’m saying. I don’t think a knockout at the White House against the greatest knockout artist the UFC has ever had is so much better than an armbar finish. I’ve already got an armbar finish, and I don’t like finishing matches the same way twice. Unless it’s a knockout or TKO, those never get old.”
