There are armbar attempts, and then there is what Josh Hokit attempted against Derrick Lewis in round one of their UFC Freedom 250 heavyweight bout at the White House.
The mechanics were so far off that Craig Jones, widely regarded as one of the best submission grappling specialists in the world, posted a screenshot of the moment, writing, “This can’t be real.”
The technical failures were easy to identify for those with a trained eye. Hokit had a gable grip when attempting to isolate the arm, was pulling the limb in the wrong direction rather than into the available negative space. He had his leg placement over Lewis’s face on the incorrect side.
By any reasonable technical standard, it ranked among the poorest armbar attempts seen at this level of competition.
Gordon Ryan shared on his Instagram story, posting a screenshot of the position with the caption: “POV: Coach asks me to show the armbar he taught 30 seconds ago.”
MMA journalist Adam Martin put it plainly in a tweet.
“Josh Hokit doesn’t know how to finish with the armbar. But still wins 10-9 in R1 #UFCWhiteHouse.”
That round one score became the foundation for something more decisive. Hokit, who weighed in at 231 lbs (105 kg), was the smaller man against Lewis, who tipped the scales at the heavyweight maximum of 265 lbs (120 kg) and holds the UFC record for the most knockouts in heavyweight history.
The size difference did not appear to matter.
Before the first bell, Hokit made his intentions clear, moving to center cage to flip Lewis off. Once action began, he backed it up. He opened with front kicks, landed a right hand when Lewis countered, and then dropped down for a double leg takedown that planted “The Black Beast” on his back.
From there, Hokit was methodical in choosing his strikes and connected repeatedly. An elbow during the ground work phase appeared to open a cut on Lewis, and when Lewis rolled to his back looking for an exit, Hokit briefly took mount before attempting the now-debated armbar. The position never came together cleanly, and time ran out on the round, but Hokit had done more than enough to earn it.
Lewis received some encouragement entering round two, a chant rising from the crowd after he managed to stuff a takedown attempt and land a few punches that momentarily put Hokit on his heels. That window was brief.
Lewis came out of a clinch looking drained, and Hokit steadily took over. Combinations landed. Elbows followed. Lewis was repeatedly pressed against the fence. When they finally broke free from the cage wall, Hokit assembled one final combination that sent Lewis to the canvas.
Referee Herb Dean stepped in at 4:09, with Lewis flat on his back, unable to answer.
