UFC’s Joshua Hokit Says Michelle Obama Comment Was “Giving Her A Compliment”: “You’ll Never Hear Me Backtrack From What I Say”

UFC fighter Joshua Hokit is doubling down on the comment he made about Michelle Obama after winning his bout at the UFC Freedm 250 event at the White House.

In a new interview, Hokit explained that calling the former First Lady of the United States a “man” was intended as a “compliment.”

“I thought I was giving her a compliment,” he said on The Ariel Helwani Show.

The show’s host mentioned that no one took that remark as a compliment, and Hokit added, “Michelle Obama being a man. It’s like, she knows how to deal with adversity. She knows how to work hard like a man when the times get tough.”

On why the former FLOTUS came to mind during that moment, Hokit said, “I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show the world how great this country is with freedom of speech.”

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“You go somewhere [else in the world], and you say something like that, and you die. And I’m not suicidal, by the way. I’m in good spirits. I’m a little under the weather right now, but other than that, I’m good,” he continued. “And so in other parts of the world, you say something like that, and you’re not here to speak to Ariel Helwani, you know. So yeah, I don’t know there’s a ways — there’s a few answers to that. There’s a certain side that pokes at another side, and there’s no outrage there, and so I thought it was a perfect time to take a jab.”

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One thing is for sure: Hokit is not going to apologize or feel any regret for what he said, adding, “You’ll never hear me backtrack from what I say.”

Although Hokit won’t take back his words, UFC’s Dana White told Time, “Everyone knows my position on free speech, but I hate that kind of nonsense.”

Watch the interview in the video below.