Watch: Alex Pereira surprises Josh Hokit backstage with heartfelt message after UFC 334 title fight

No one in their wildest dreams expected Alex Pereira to ever praise Josh Hokit, considering the rivalry between them, in which Hokit has taken serious digs at ‘Poatan’ and called him out for a potential showdown.

However, Hokit’s performance against Ciryl Gane in the headliner of UFC 334 made that happen. The American is receiving widespread praise despite losing the bout, and his rival Pereira met him backstage to commend ‘The Incredible Hok’ on his performance. The wholesome footage of their meeting has gone viral.

Alex Pereira backs Josh Hokit after UFC 334 loss to Ciryl Gane

Hokit entered the bout as an underdog, with many analysts counting him out given how great a technical striker Gane is. However, the American silenced his doubters and turned them into fans with his performance.

From the opening bell, Hokit set an insane pace. He immediately shot for a takedown and later slammed Gane. He created chaos by constantly pressing forward, faking takedowns, and landing strikes. The Frenchman, who was not used to such a high pace, still connected with jabs while moving backward.

Both fighters seemed exhausted from keeping up the pace of the fight, but Gane looked much more gassed in rounds two and three, as Hokit, despite eating shots, kept pressing forward and landing his own strikes. ‘The Incredible Hok’ had great success with elbows in the third.

In the fourth and fifth rounds, Gane looked relatively fresh. His coaches had told him to target Hokit with body shots, and he did that in the championship rounds. Despite that, the challenger didn’t back down for a single moment and traded in brutal exchanges. The two set a UFC record for the most combined significant strikes in a fight.

After five rounds of war, all three judges scored the contest 48-47 for Gane, as Bruce Buffer officially announced the result. Pereira, who was in attendance, looked shocked by the decision.

Pereira went backstage, met Hokit, shook his hand, and said, “For you won.”

Hokit responded by wishing Pereira luck in his scheduled bout against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335, saying, “Best of luck in your fight.”

Check out the interaction between Alex Pereira and Josh Hokit below:

The defeat marked Hokit’s first loss in his professional MMA career. Despite the loss, his performance inside the octagon at Madison Square Garden is earning widespread praise from the MMA community, with not only Pereira but a few others believing the American challenger won the bout and was robbed.

Henry Cejudo feels Josh Hokit got robbed against Ciryl Gane at UFC 334

In his immediate reaction to the fight, Henry Cejudo posted a video on his Instagram account reacting to the announcement of the Hokit vs. Gane result. He believes ‘The Incredible Hok’ got robbed and urged for a rematch.

“Guys, call me crazy, but I thought Josh Hokit won that damn fight. I think the most decisive round, I think I’m hearing some boos right now, but I think the most decisive round right now was maybe just the fifth for Gane, but man, I don’t even know, do like it. Guys, there has to be a rematch. Josh Hokit freaking won that fight,” Cejudo said.

Check out Henry Cejudo’s comments below: