UFC Freedom 250 Tale of the Tape: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis

The UFC Freedom 250 card was initially a six-fight card when it was first announced, but after United States President Donald Trump made a personal request to have Derrick Lewis on the card, he was matched up against rising star Josh Hokit in what should be a heavyweight slobberknocker.

Both Hokit and Lewis are known for knocking people out, and this fight between two big boys with tons of power is likely to produce another highlight-reel KO for fight fans.

It’s also a huge fight in the UFC heavyweight division.

A win would put Hokit on the fast track for a title shot, while for Lewis, it’s a chance to prove that the old man still has what it takes to beat the young guard in the sport’s biggest division.

With so much on the line, Hokit vs. Lewis is one of the most highly anticipated fights taking place on the White House lawn.

JOSH HOKIT
Nickname: The Incredible Hok
Fighting out of: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Age:28 | Height: six-foot-one | Weight: 234.5 pounds
Arm reach:73.5 inches | Leg reach: 43 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Background/style: Wrestling
Team/gym: Jackson-Wink MMA Academy
MMA record: 9-0 | UFC record: 3-0
Average fight time: 6:45

Notable accomplishments/credentials: No. 5-ranked UFC heavyweight; former Division 1 All-American wrestler (Fresno State); former NFL practice squad player for the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals; two UFC finishes; four UFC performance bonuses.

Biggest strength/best technique: On paper, Hokit’s biggest strength is his wrestling, and he should be able to take Lewis down at will if he wants to in his fight. Is that likely to happen, though? No, because Hokit prefers to stand and bang.

Since he joined the UFC in 2025, Hokit has fought three times inside the Octagon, and he has won four bonuses for his performances. He’s gotten a taste of the bonus money, and he knows that if he wants to get another one, the best way to do that would be to keep this fight standing with Lewis and knock him out on the feet.

Lewis, the UFC recordholder for most knockout wins with 16, is incredibly dangerous on the feet, as he packs prodigious punching power in his fists. But he is very chinny with eight knockout losses, and Hokit likely feels like he can make it nine with another knockout at UFC Freedom 250.

Key to victory: Hokit is one of the best athletes on the UFC roster, and that’s his key to winning this fight. He was a standout collegiate wrestler, had a cup of coffee in the NFL, and now he’s beating the best of the best in MMA inside the Octagon. So, whatever you may think of Hokit’s persona, he is one heck of a fighter when he steps inside that steel cage.

Against Lewis, the easiest path to victory would be to take his opponent down, which he should be able to do at will since Lewis has awful 52 per cent takedown defence. Hokit may try to make a statement and keep this fight standing, where he’ll have the chance to knock out the UFC’s all-time knockout king in Lewis.

Signature win/moment: Hokit’s signature victory came in his last fight, not even two months ago, when he defeated Curtis Blaydes by unanimous decision at UFC 327.

Despite entering the fight with far less MMA experience and as the betting underdog, Hokit put it to Blaydes for 15 minutes in an all-out war and got his hand raised at the end of the three rounds.

For his outstanding performance in the fight, Hokit won $200,000 worth of bonuses for both Fight of the Night and for Performance of the Night. Some MMA fans had doubts about Hokit heading into the bout against Blaydes and he put the doubters to shame by taking out one of the UFC heavyweight division’s perennial contenders, and he’ll look to keep the train rolling here against Lewis.

What a win would mean: Hokit is already on a meteoric rise to the top of the UFC heavyweight division. Think about it, one year ago, he wasn’t even in the UFC. A year later, he’s fighting Lewis on the White House card in front of United States President on my far the biggest stage of his MMA career to date.

Although Lewis is ranked below Hokit in the UFC heavyweight rankings, it would still be a huge win for his MMA career as it would add another respected scalp to his resume after beating Blaydes in his last fight.

Should Hokit get his hand raised, look for him to call out the winner of the co-main event for the interim UFC heavyweight title between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.

DERRICK LEWIS
Nickname: The Black Beast
Fighting out of: Houston, Texas
Age:41 | Height: six-foot-three | Weight: 263.5 pounds
Arm reach:79 inches | Leg reach: 43.5 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Background/style: Brawler
Team/gym: Silverback Fight Club
MMA record: 29-13, 1 NC | UFC record: 20-11, 1 NC 
Average fight time: 8:50

Notable accomplishments/credentials: No. 9-ranked UFC heavyweight; two-time UFC heavyweight title challenger (one interim, one undisputed); most knockouts in UFC history (16); third-most total finishes in UFC history (16); eight performance bonuses; former Legacy FC heavyweight champion.

Biggest strength/best technique: Lewis’s biggest strength is his insane KO power. With 24 wins by knockout in his MMA career, including a UFC record of 16 knockout wins in the Octagon, Lewis is the sport’s all-time biggest hitter. No wonder he has “Knockout King” tattooed on his chest.

What Lewis lacks in any sort of ground game, he makes up for with his ridiculous knockout power on the feet. Anytime an opponent stands and trades with Lewis, they risk getting knocked out and woken up by a doctor’s flashlight. Will Hokit play the game that Lewis wants? We’ll find out Sunday at UFC Freedom 250.

Key to victory: For Lewis, the key to victory in this fight is easy. He needs to keep it standing and land the knockout blow on Hokit. That’s his only path to win, because if this fight hits the ground, he’ll be at a severe disadvantage on the mat. If it fight stays standing, he will have a chance to add to his legacy with another knockout win.

It’s worth noting that Hokit is coming off a war with Blaydes, where he ate 174 significant strikes, including 164 significant strikes to the head. With that fight taking place not even two months ago, Hokit did not get as much rest and recovery as he normally would have after a war like that. But when the UFC came calling to have Hokit fight Lewis at the White House, he couldn’t say no.

That being said, Hokit could be ripe for a knockout loss, and Lewis is certainly going to try to test his chin and pull off a big upset in front of the world.

Signature win/moment: When you have a record 16 UFC knockouts like Lewis has, it’s not easy to pick just one signature moment but if we must pick just one, it would have to be his incredible comeback knockout win over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 in October 2018.

Heading into the third and final round, Lewis was down two rounds on the judges’ scorecards. But his will to win was remarkable, as he chased Volkov down and knocked him out with just 11 seconds in this fight for arguably his most memorable UFC victory.

That win over Volkov earned Lewis a UFC heavyweight title shot against then-champ Daniel Cormier in his next bout. He lost that fight, but the fact that he earned a title shot off of it shows that Lewis’ win over Volkov was the biggest and most important in his MMA career to date.

A win over Hokit on the White House grounds, though, may top it.

What a win would mean: A win for Lewis over a rising star like Hokit would show everyone that the old man still has what it takes to beat the new guard.

Not many people are expecting Lewis to win. He’s a significant betting underdog in this fight, and going up against a younger, fresher, undefeated fighter like Hokit, things don’t look good for Lewis.

But he’s pulled off so many upsets in his MMA career, and if he can do it again, it would shoot Lewis right back in the top five of the UFC heavyweight division, where he spent many years.