Josh Hokit says Alex Pereira lost to Ciryl Gane because of 'the wrath of God'
Hokit, who fights Gane for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 334 on 14 November, linked Pereira's 'Chama' catchphrase to shamans and curses on The Ariel Helwani Show.
Josh Hokit has blamed Alex Pereira's knockout defeat by Ciryl Gane on "witchcraft".
Asked on The Ariel Helwani Show how his title fight with Gane came about, with Pereira having campaigned for a rematch, Hokit turned on Pereira's trademark "Chama" call.
"It's like Alex Pereira, he paints his face in women's mascara, you know what I'm saying? He's witchcraft," Hokit said. "He wants to say Chama, and that sh*t's from, you know, the shaman. And shamans, they don't even believe in the one true God. So it's like everyone's saying Chama, and it's like it's putting curses on everybody. That's why he got f*cked up by Ciryl Gane. The wrath of God came upon him."
Gane knocked out Pereira in June to win the interim heavyweight title, as we reported: Dana White on Gane's route to the undisputed title. He was then promoted to undisputed champion when Tom Aspinall vacated the belt. His first defence is against Hokit at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on 14 November, live on TNT Sports in the UK: Gane on Aspinall and Pereira and Jon Jones, Ciryl Gane and the title defence ahead.
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Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.