Hokit Calls Strickland, Du Plessis and Chimaev "Weight Bullies" and Pitches a 225-Pound BMF Division

Josh Hokit has never been short of something to say, and a week out from the biggest fight of his life he has found a new target — or rather, three of them, none of whom fight in his division. The heavyweight challenger, who meets Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden, used an interview with former BMF champion Jorge Masvidal to call out Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. His complaint was not about anything they had said. It was about the scales. Hokit, who says he walks around at roughly 235 pounds, accused the three middleweights of being "weight bullies" — fighters who cut enormous amounts of weight to compete against smaller men, then enjoy a size advantage on fight night that the numbers on the bout sheet never show. His solution was characteristically direct: a 225-pound BMF division, a catchweight meeting point where none of them could hide behind a cut, and where he would happily meet any of them. It is easy to laugh it off as fight-week noise, and plenty of people will. But there is a real argument buried under the showmanship, and it is one the sport has been having with itself for years. Fighters routinely shed 20 or 30 pounds in the final week before a bout, then rehydrate back up before the cage door closes. The middleweight limit is 185 pounds. On fight night, some of the men Hokit named have weighed closer to 210. Hokit, a natural heavyweight, looks at that and sees something unfair. He also sees an opportunity. "Let them come up to 225," is the gist of it — a weight where the cut disappears and the fighting does the talking. Whether any of them would ever take him up on it is another matter entirely. Strickland is the reigning middleweight champion, Du Plessis a former champion, and Chimaev a former champion too. All three have title business of their own, and none of them needs a heavyweight with four straight wins and a habit of saying the quiet part out loud. Still, Hokit knows exactly what he is doing. A year ago he was a debutant; now he is a week away from fighting for the heavyweight title at the Garden, with a co-main event of Kayla Harrison against Amanda Nunes underneath him. The trash talk that once got him noticed — the black cloak, the gloves, the rap at the UFC Freedom 250 press conference — has become a weapon in its own right. Gane has already had to draw a line over comments about his mother. Now the middleweights are getting a taste of it too. None of this changes what happens on November 14. Hokit still has to get past Gane, a former champion and one of the most dynamic heavyweights the division has ever seen. But win or lose, he has made one thing clear: he is not just here to fight heavyweights. He wants the whole sport's attention, and he is willing to pick a fight with anyone to get it — even three champions at once.