Daniel Cormier repeats denial of Trump messages, denounces Josh Hokit’s Obama insult

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier on Wednesday expanded on his assertion that his X account was hacked ahead of Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House, saying he is tired of being asked about the subject.

Addressing a since-deleted post sharing messages supposedly exchanged between himself and Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s second-eldest son, Cormier again insisted the two had no relationship and first met Sunday.

The post appeared to show Trump’s account asking Cormier for betting tips regarding the UFC Freedom 250 card, such as potential injuries to fighters and his picks for who might win the fights. It included Cormier’s purported account deflecting these questions, which Trump supposedly responded to by asking if the event was “rigged.”

Cormier laid out a timeline on his podcast Wednesday of how the situation unfolded from his perspective, saying he was confused and struggled with X to regain access to his account during the event.

“I get to the UFC on Sunday. Two of the UFC social media people are telling me, ‘We were just talking about you.’ And I said, ‘About what?’ They said, ‘You and Eric Trump.’ And I was like, ‘What about me and Eric Trump?’

“Guys, this is at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday night. I go to the event, and they’re telling me they’re talking to me about something that I have no idea that is going on. I have no idea how long it was up. I have no idea how long it had been taken down.”

As a UFC employee, company policy prohibits Cormier from engaging in betting related to any UFC event. Sharing privileged information to gain an advantage in sports betting could expose him to criminal fraud charges. Cormier said the idea that he would put himself in that situation should seem ridiculous to anyone who knows him.

“At the end of the day, I would never do anything like that. I would never engage in those conversations. I would never go to Twitter and post that,” he said. “After engaging in those conversations, I just wouldn’t do that. It’s not what I do. …

“I’m like, it just doesn’t make sense logically to think that I would do that. One: I don’t really talk like that. I don’t. I just don’t talk like that. And two: I’m actually going to the White House to do that fight. So why, right before I go into the White House to do the fight, would I do something like that, knowing that I’m going to be around all these people? It just doesn’t make sense.”

Cormier added that he is still not able to access his X account and said the situation disrupted what he described as the greatest sporting event he had ever attended.

“For the last 2 1/2 days, I have been trying to work with Twitter to get me back into my account because during the show, they told me, ‘Hey, change the account, guys.’ I’m trying to broadcast this. I’m trying to broadcast this, this historic event,” he said. “And in the middle of it all, I’m trying to change the password to my Twitter account to try to make sure that people aren’t doing and posting crazy things from the account as I’m trying to broadcast one of the biggest broadcasting moments of my entire career.”

For his part, Eric Trump has also asserted that the messages with Cormier were “completely fake,” saying he never reached out to the UFC Hall of Famer and calling the situation “scary.”

While Cormier said the posts and supposed hacking bothered him, the thing now frustrating him is that he has been bombarded with political questions ever since. He referred to sponsors asking for answers and begged news organizations to stop calling him with questions about issues such as the Iran peace negotiations, referring to himself as a “dumb fighter.”

Cormier then moved on to address the much-criticized post-fight interview with Josh Hokit.

After defeating Derrick Lewis by TKO on Sunday, Hokit used his moment on the microphone to insult former first lady Michelle Obama, whom he called “a man.”

The remark has overshadowed the fight itself, and it left visibly frustrated UFC head Dana White responding to a litany of questions after the event. White has not said Hokit will face punishment for his behavior. He did, however, say he “hated” the “nonsense.”

“It was irresponsible. It was nasty. It was — it was horrible. And it was unnecessary. It was unnecessary,” Cormier said Wednesday.

“He could have left, and he could have made more fans than he walked in there with, because they would have gotten to see Josh Hokit. But instead, he goes and says the thing about Michelle Obama, who is as classy a person as you will ever meet, who has only represented herself, her family and this country with grace and class. She’s been a person that it should be hard to take shots at. And that was — it was just an unnecessary shot on her in a setting that didn’t need any of that type of stuff.”

Cormier went on to say Hokit’s comments are the sort of remarks that contribute to the country’s political and cultural divides. Hokit has previously drawn attention for calling a Black opponent “a gorilla” and describing himself as proudly transphobic.

“It’s gross. You just don’t need to do it, especially when you can fight in the way that he does. Because at the end of the day, he’s a fighter. He’s a fighter. But it benefited him none to do that. There was no gain in Josh Hokit doing that. And it was disgusting,” Cormier said. “So, get it together. You don’t need to be as outlandish as you are.”

The comment drew scattered jeers from the audience, and videos posted online appeared to show President Trump reacting by cringing and removing a chain Hokit draped around his neck moments earlier. Hokit has since defended himself on Instagram, welcoming detractors to fight him if they’re angry.

“Strong and Courageous!! The only two reasons I joined this sport. If you exercise those every single day and back them up with hard work, the money and success will follow,” Hokit wrote. “I’m not here to be liked. I’m not here to be a role model. I don’t care. I’m here to succeed. I’ll do whatever it takes to get where I want to go, and if you don’t like it … Come beat me in a fight.”

Hokit has trained at Cormier’s gym, and Cormier said Wednesday that “when he’s not doing the whole character thing, he’s just a normal dude.”

Cormier, who finished fourth in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Olympics and was on Team USA’s 2008 Olympic wrestling roster, wrapped up his video by thanking fans for their support. The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion then praised the UFC Freedom 250 event again as “better than being in two Olympic Games, even walking out to compete or walking to the opening ceremonies.”