Josh Hokit is one fight into his MMA career, and he already knows what he wants after Bellator 300 in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO – [autotag]Josh Hokit[/autotag] is one fight into his MMA career, and he already knows what he wants.
Hokit (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) put away Spencer Smith (0-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) this past Saturday in his pro debut and did his first post-fight news conference – where he said he already has his sights set on Bellator’s heavyweight title.
Hokit spoke to the media following his win over Smith at Bellator 300, which took place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
Watch Hokit’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
Find out how much weight all 32 fighters at Bellator 300 gained from the Friday morning official weigh-ins to Saturday night fights.
In California, fighters have their weights checked on the day of competition – not just when they have to hit their marks on the scale.
In 2017, the California State Athletic Commission put a plan in place to try to cut back on excessive weight cutting. Within those rules was a cap on how much a fighter could gain from the official weigh-ins to the fight.
If a fighter gained more than 10 percent back before the bout, the commission then could make a recommendation that he or she move to a higher weight class. If a fighter gained more than 15 percent, the commission had plans in place to potentially cancel fights.
At Bellator 300, which took place this past Saturday in San Diego, 14 of the 32 fighters on the card gained more than 10 percent of their weight back. Three of those 14 exceeded the 15 percent threshold. MMA Junkie obtained a list of fight-night weights Monday from the CSAC.
Check out the weight gains and percentages for all 32 fighters on the card at Pechanga Arena.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 11-17.
Eight players tried out for the Broncos earlier this week, including QB Jarrett Guarantano.
The Denver Broncos worked out eight players on Tuesday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. Here’s a quick recap of the players who tried out for the club earlier this week.
QB Jarrett Guarantano: Transferred as a graduate from Tennessee to Washington State in 2021 and was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent this spring. He failed to make their 53-man roster and began his rookie season on Arizona’s practice squad before being cut last month.
TE Jevon Cottoy: Went straight from high school football in Canada to playing in the Canadian Junior Football League before eventually landing in the CFL. He played WR in Canada but the Broncos worked him out as a TE.
TE Josh Hokit: TE with FB experience who has spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and Cardinals. Yet to play in a regular season game in the NFL since entering the league in 2020.
TE Briley Moore: Spent his rookie season on injured reserve with the Tennessee Titans after tearing his ACL in 2021. Recently selected by the DC Defenders to play in the upcoming season of the XFL.
WR Jaquarii Roberson: Rookie out of Wake Forest who has spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills this year, bouncing between practice squads.
WR Kevin Kassis: Signed with Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of Montana State in the spring. Began the year on Seattle’s practice squad before being cut last week.
WR Brandon Lewis: Signed with the Titans as a college free agent in May after playing college football for the Air Force. He was waived during preseason.
LB Ray Wilborn: Spent time with the Green Bay Packers earlier this year before working out for Denver. Signed to the Broncos’ practice squad after his tryout on Tuesday.
The seven players who did not sign with Denver might be candidates to sign reserve/future contracts with the Broncos after the season ends.
While the practice squad may not be the most notable group on an NFL roster, the Miami Dolphins have proved this season that those players can be extremely valuable.
On Tuesday, the Dolphins released defensive end Big Kat Bryant from their practice squad, leaving a hole for a signing. Miami then worked out two players, fullback Jake Bargas and tight end Josh Hokit. After the workouts, it was Bargas who was actually offered a contract.
Bargas, 25, spent his collegiate career at North Carolina before going undrafted in 2020. He was signed as a free agent after the draft by the Minnesota Vikings and spent his first two seasons mainly on the practice squad. He also spent a few days with the Chicago Bears during the preseason.
Hokit, 24, played for Fresno State in college before also going undrafted in 2020. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers and spent the last two seasons on their practice squad and also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals this preseason. He has experience playing fullback and tight end.
The sign former 49ers FB Josh Hokit to play TE as the position is thin with injuries.
The Arizona Cardinals opened a roster spot Wednesday by releasing linebacker Jessie Lemonier. They filled that roster spot by adding a player to play tight end, a position that has some injuries.
The team announced Thursday that Josh Hokit was signed as a tight end.
Hokit spent the last two seasons as a fullback for the San Francisco 49ers on their practice squad.
He is small for tight end at 6-1 and 226 lbs.
Collegiately, he played at Fresno State. He played 44 games as a fullback and rushed for 1,260 yards and 17 touchdowns on 303 carries while catching 38 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown. Hokit was also a two-time All-America selection as a wrestler, earning trips to the NCAA Championship in both his junior and senior seasons.
Tight end Zach Ertz has been resting a calf strain and his wife just had their first child. Maxx Williams is coming back from a torn ACL and has been on limited duty. Rookie Trey McBride has missed time with back spasms and veteran Stephen Anderson has an injured knee.
Hokit will likely be needed to play some in the team’s preseason home opener on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
