Dave Portnoy had no shortage of opinions about UFC 250 at the White House. During an episode of Wake Up Barstool, he weighed in on the controversial post-bout comments that he believes deserve an immediate response.
According to Portnoy, that moment crossed a line. Referring to the Josh Hokit, who made a derogatory comment about Michelle Obama during his post-bout interview, Portnoy said the remarks should be publicly condemned.
“There was one moment I do think Trump has to denounce, and anybody associated with it has to denounce, and that’s that crazy figh ter guy,” he said. “I don’t even have his name up here, but he won the match. He took the microphone and he made a derogatory comment about Michelle Obama.”
Portnoy argued that the setting made the comments particularly inappropriate.
“To me, on the White House lawn, these are UFC guys,” he said. “They’re crazy. They’re idiots. You have Sean Strickland, who’s one of the craziest people of all time, to the point you can’t even pay attention to what he says.”
Even so, he believes the comment demanded an immediate response.
“But when you have that on the White House lawn, I don’t care what you think about the Obamas or anything,” he said. “That has to be an immediate denounce. Wrong. Doesn’t speak for me.”
Portnoy also criticized the athlete’s overall persona and promotional style.
“He’s the cringiest guy there is,” he said.
He then contrasted him with Conor McGregor.
“Where Conor McGregor is like the best in the history on a mic and very funny and entertaining, this guy has zero that, but he still does it,” Portnoy said.
While acknowledging that many MMA athletes are controversial personalities, he maintained that the comments should not be excused.
“These UFC stars, they’re not all model citizens and role models,” he said. “I have no problem with the event. I do have a problem with him saying that.”
Portnoy added that his issue was less about punishing the athletes and more about making it clear the remarks were unacceptable.
“Not so much that he said it, because what are you going to do?” he said. “But you got to denounce it and come out against it.”
He closed by reiterating that point while praising the event as a whole.
“You got to clean up that Michelle Obama quote,” Portnoy said. “There’s no place for that on the White House lawn. Disrespectful. Shouldn’t have been said.”
Recently, footage surfaced showing President Donald Trump removing Josh Hokit’s chain following the athlete’s post-bout interview on the White House lawn. Neither Trump nor the White House has publicly addressed the interaction.
