🚨 ALEX PEREIRA vs. JOSH HOKIT COULD BE IN THE WORKS FOR UFC 334 AT MSG 👀🔥 This rivalry has been building up for months…. 😭 The bad blood first erupted during UFC 250 White House fight week, when Hokit caught Pereira off guard in a hotel hallway and began shouting insults at him. Hokit later targeted Pereira again at the press conference, continuing the trash talk before the situation escalated into a heated confrontation that ultimately saw Hokit removed from the event. 🤦♂️ Since then, both fighters have taken very different paths. 🗿 Alex Pereira made his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250, but suffered a second-round TKO loss. 😭 🇺🇸 Josh Hokit, meanwhile, remains undefeated at 9-0. Coming off a great statement second-round TKO win over Derrick Lewis.💥 . . . . . . #ufcmsg #alexpereira #joshhokit #ufc #mma
A potential heavyweight showdown between Alex Pereira and Josh Hokit at UFC 334 inside Madison Square Garden is generating buzz, though nothing has been officially confirmed and the matchup remains a rumour at this stage.
The backstory between the two fighters reportedly dates back to UFC 250 White House fight week, when Hokit allegedly confronted Pereira in a hotel hallway and unleashed a verbal tirade. The tension carried over to the press conference, where Hokit continued his trash talk before the situation escalated to the point where he was removed from the event. That sequence of events appears to have planted the seeds for a grudge match.
Pereira, the Brazilian knockout artist nicknamed "Poatan," holds a 13-4 record and is currently ranked third in the light heavyweight division. The 39-year-old stands six-foot-four with a 79-inch reach and carries genuine finishing power, averaging 5.16 significant strikes per minute at a 62 percent accuracy rate. According to the summary, he made his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 and suffered a second-round TKO loss — a result that adds an interesting layer of uncertainty to his standing at 265 pounds.
Hokit, by contrast, enters this potential fight on a wave of momentum. The American remains undefeated at 9-0 and is coming off a second-round TKO stoppage of Derrick Lewis, a result that qualified as a genuine statement win in the heavyweight division.
Why it matters
- A loss to Gane leaves questions about Pereira's ceiling at heavyweight, making this a pivotal fight for his divisional future
- Hokit's perfect record and high-profile KO of Lewis would make him a credible threat in any matchup
- The pre-existing animosity between the two gives this potential booking a genuine bad-blood narrative
- UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden would be a marquee platform for a fight of this profile
