"Distance and timing was off" - Josh Hokit outlines Ilia Topuria's training errors that cost him against Justin Gaethje
Josh Hokit has shed light on the training camp mistakes that cost Ilia Topuria against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.
Ilia Topuria and Josh Hokit traded several barbs heading into the UFC Freedom 250 event, which transpired on the White House's South Lawn on June 14.
Regardless, Hokit has now indicated that he felt Topuria was the best fighter in the UFC, from a skill set perspective.
He added, however, that the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion's mistakes in training camp resulted in him suffering a gruesome loss against the veteran Justin Gaethje.
Josh Hokit acknowledges Ilia Topuria's fighting prowess and Justin Gaethje's experience
Josh Hokit bested Derrick Lewis by TKO in round two of their heavyweight fight at UFC Freedom 250. The win is believed to have boosted the unbeaten fighter's momentum, and he's now even more vocal in his pursuit of UFC heavyweight gold.
Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria was handed his first MMA loss, as he was stopped via fourth-round TKO by Justin Gaethje in their UFC lightweight title unification match that headlined UFC Freedom 250.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show this week, Josh Hokit discussed a myriad of topics. His war of words against Topuria and fellow heavyweight Alex Pereira notwithstanding, the wrestling savant alluded to both combatants' fighting prowess.
He noted, "Topuria, in my eyes, was the best UFC fighter right now." Regardless, Hokit underscored that he knew Gaethje could pull off the upset.
Hokit highlighted that Gaethje, with all his experience of having been in grueling fights, used unorthodox striking techniques and veteran savvy to outlast Topuria.
Josh Hokit dissects the supposed training camp errors that hurt Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250
A significant point Josh Hokit underlined multiple times was that both Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira probably hurt their sparring partners too often, which is why they weren't challenged enough in their respective training camps.
Hokit stated, "I think Topuria makes the mistake of -- maybe he trains a little too hard." The American fighter implied that he himself isn't against training hard, but that training mustn't entail constantly hurting and knocking down one's sparring partners.
"The Incredible Hok" opined that Topuria was likely routinely dropping his sparring partners with body shots in training, which is why most of them were probably not giving him a tough test out of fear of getting knocked down. Hokit feels that, in turn, it backfired on "El Matador" against Gaethje.
"Topuria trains a little too hard in the sense of -- he beats up his teammates," Hokit said. He continued, "And so now, the teammates fear him, where now, he's not getting a certain look. And that's the downfall of Topuria..."
Helwani chimed in and pointed out that former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor recently made a similar assessment, on The Ariel Helwani Show, of Topuria's defeat. McGregor had signaled that the Georgian-Spaniard fighter possibly wasn't tested enough in training, which proved to be his undoing inside the octagon.
Moreover, Hokit explained that he exercises good body control in training and refrains from hurting his training partners, as people tend to steer clear of a fighter who consistently hurts sparring partners.
Addressing why Topuria's management of distance and timing wasn't ideal at UFC Freedom 250, Hokit cited that he kept running into Gaethje's jabs and other strikes en route to his stoppage defeat. The California-born fighter explained:
"You want a healthy balance in practice, where the guy (one's training partner) is still trying to test you. So you have to practice your defense. And I think that's why his distance and timing was off because of that."
Ilia Topuria has vowed to heal and stage a triumphant comeback, but the belief is that his facial injuries could potentially delay his return for a considerable period of time.
Watch Josh Hokit discuss Ilia Topuria's defeat against Justin Gaethje in their high-stakes title fight below:
Josh Hokit offers an interesting theory on what went wrong for Ilia Topuria:
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 23, 2026
"Topuria makes the mistake of... he beats up his teammates, and so now the teammates fear him, where now he's not getting a certain look.
That's the downfall of Topuria. If you're always hitting people… pic.twitter.com/maiYeoVa29
