Josh Hawkett crashed a media day event with an extremely unusual and graphic speech about his plans for the heavyweight division. The fighter delivered bizarre comments about Curtis Blaydes and Alex Pereira, describing violent and disturbing imagery involving multiple ranked contenders. Hawkett stated he would defeat Blaydes and then referenced creating a "human centipede" involving the number two and three ranked fighters that he would parade around his yard. The speech was characterized as strange and raised questions about what the fighter might have consumed before the appearance. This outburst drew comparisons to Jean Silva's unusual behavior at previous events.
