Is there anyone who wouldn’t be blown away by Josh Hoki? Probably not, based on his performance at UFC 334. The UFC heavyweight came to Madison Square Garden for his title fight. Against Cyril Gane full of piss and vinegar, throwing the middle finger at Gane, the crowd and even Bruce Buffer.
Now we get to hear what Buffer thought of the moment and how close he came to physically reacting to Hokit’s disrespect.
“The show is not about me, folks, the bottom line,” the UFC announcer said in a post-UFC 334 Q&A video with Jon Anik. “I’m there to do my job, to take the fighters and the fans above their level of excitement, to enhance the moment and take it to the next level. And I’m doing it for Josh Hokit. I’m doing it for Ciryl Gane. I’m doing it for everybody, because God bless the female and male fighters, they put their blood, sweat and tears into our entertainment and their lives.”
Buffer had previously said that he wasn’t a fan Of Hokit and his out-of-the-cage antics that prompted Shoot the puck back at the buffer. This led Buffer to predict exactly what Hokit would do when he introduced the UFC 334 main event.
“I told you about a month ago,” Buffer said. “Hokkit came out and commented because he got his panties in a bunch over a little comment I made. Right? You know, come on. Sticks and rocks can break my bones. He’s given the finger to fighters. He’s always putting his finger out there… And I said, Jon, I guarantee if I report him, he’s going to stick his finger in my face and pat me and I’ll give it away.”
“And then DC said, ‘Buff, don’t do it.’ And I said, “Okay, DC. That’s good. That’s okay. But I can only take so much. It’s going to be great TV no matter what happens.
“But you know how I am, I’ll go into a pool of blood if I need to in a situation because that’s just being a man,” Buffer concluded. “But in this case, I’m there to enhance his moment again. So, okay. He had his moment. He stuck his finger in my face. I just smiled back.”
Puffer was clearly not too happy when Hokit turned the birdie on him, but he kept it professional…this time.