Josh Hokit on Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili brawl: 'Cowards hide in numbers'

The UFC 334 challenger said "you gonna have your whole team jump, that's some f*cking p*ssy sh*t", as RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein said Nurmagomedov will not be at RAF Abu Dhabi.

Josh Hokit said "cowards hide in numbers" when he was asked about the brawl between Usman Nurmagomedov and former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi at the UFC 334 press conference in New York on Thursday.

"I mean, that's some coward sh*t, you know what I'm saying? Like, cowards hide in numbers," Hokit said. "And so I understand if you're gonna confront someone one-on-one, you gonna slap someone, it's a one-on-one fade. But I mean, you gonna have your whole team jump, that's some f*cking p*ssy sh*t, you know what I'm saying?"

Hokit did not name either man in his answer. Nurmagomedov slapped Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday while Dvalishvili was giving an interview, days before RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Members of Nurmagomedov's team, including his brother Umar Nurmagomedov, then joined in before the fighters were pulled apart. Read our report on the brawl.

RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein said at a press conference on Thursday that Nurmagomedov will not be at the event. "We're hoping that the situation gets resolved, sooner than later," he said. "And obviously, Usman will not be attending our event on Saturday night."

Hokit, who is 10-0, challenges Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title in the UFC 334 main event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. At the same press conference he led the room in a chant against Gane and went after the champion's mum. See the UFC 334 UK start time.

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