Sean Strickland likes Josh Hokit, hates 'acting like Jake Paul when he was 13'

Sean Strickland wishes UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit would just drop the persona already.

Hokit (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has been playing two characters, which has left many calling him cringe. But after he outlasted Curtis Blaydes in a double bonus-winning performance at UFC 327, his stock is at an all-time high – so high that he was immediately booked at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House card against Derrick Lewis at the request of President Trump.

Former UFC middleweight champion Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) likes Hokit as a person but urges him to stop putting on an act.

"It's like, Josh Hokit, dude, you're a grown-ass man," Strickland said in a media scrum (h/t Full Send MMA). "You're like almost 30 years old, and you're acting like f*cking Jake Paul when he was 13. Stop, bro. You made it. People know who you are. Just stop. You don't got to go interview homeless people and be f*cking weird.. Just fight now.

"I've met Josh, and I've trained with Josh. He's actually a really likable guy. He's come to the gym. He's a really nice guy, and I consider him a friend of mine. But at some point, dude, it's such a fabricated image. It reminds me of like a WWE skit that I just want to die."

Hokit responded to Strickland's comments by firing back.

"Let’s fight… I’ll show you the difference between me and Jake Paul…"

"Shawn Strickland, complaining about a persona is like a circus clown complaining about too many balloons. You’re just mad because my WWE skit has better ratings than your personality."

Strickland challenges middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 328 () main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.