Josh
Hokit believes Ilia
Topuria’s first professional loss was a result of beating up
his teammates. 

Topuria was a massive favorite when he put his lightweight title on
the line against Justin
Gaethje earlier this month at
UFC White House. However, Gaethje brutally beat down Topuria,
forcing his corner to throw in the towel at the end of the fourth
round. Hokit, who knocked out Derrick
Lewis on the same card, recently shared his theory for the
reason behind Topuria’s upset loss. 

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Hokit believes Topuria goes too hard on his teammates in training.
According to Hokit, Topuria’s teammates are scared of getting hard
to the point where they don’t challenge “El Matador.” Hokit
believes Topuria couldn’t perfect his distance management and
timing as his teammates don’t pose him any threat in training.

Healthy Balance Needed

  “Topuria makes the mistake of, maybe a trains a little to
hard in the sense of, he beats up his teammates, and so now the
teammates fear him, where now he’s not getting a certain look,”
Hokit said on „The Ariel Helwani Show.” “That’s the downfall of
Topuria. If you’re always hitting people in the liver, you’re
always dropping your teammates, the teammates are kind of shelled
up or scared to hit you because, rightfully so, no one wants to be
dropped in practice… I do train hard, but don’t think I would ever
hurt any of my teammates… You want a healthy balance in practice
where the guy is still trying to test you, so you have to practice
your defense. I think that’s why his distance and timing were off,
because of that.”

Hokit (10-0) and Topuria (17-1) got into a feud ahead of the UFC
White House event. “The Incredible Hok” told Alex
Pereira, “I’ll Chama on your mama,” during a press conference.
Topuria, who was sitting beside Pereira, stood up to defend his new
friend against Hokit’s insults. Topuria threw a glass of water at
Hokit, who was then escorted out of the presser. Hokit also mocked
Topuria’s ex-wife at the pre-fight press
conference.  

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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