UFC 327: Josh Hokit upsets Curtis Blaydes in historic fever dream of a fight

Josh Hokit entered the contender tier of UFC heavyweights on Saturday, in the most demented possible way.

Facing former challenger Curtis Blaydes, Hokit took a win by unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds of some of the most jaw-dropping action in UFC history. Both men were gasping for air by the end of the first round, but maintained their pace until the final bell.

Hokit was the instigator for most of the fight. He was on the verge of stealing a first-round win with a litany of strikes — and middle fingers — to the surprised Blaydes, but the veteran regrouped and took control enough to take the round on all three scorecards.

But Hokit just kept coming, and progressively turned Blaydes’ face into hamburger. Unofficially, it was the most significant strikes ever thrown in a three-round heavyweight fight, by nearly 40 strikes.

Curtis Blaydes (161) and Josh Hokit (142) *unofficially* combine for a new UFC heavyweight three-round record with 303 combined significant strikes landed (old HW record: 266). #UFC327

— Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) April 12, 2026

It was a completely out of nowhere war of exhaustion between two men who usually skew toward the wrestling end of the MMA spectrum. Hokit was fueled by hunger for a reputation-setting win and to back up a titanic amount trash talk, while Blaydes seemingly stayed up out of either spite or pride.

Hokit over Blaydes was an upset. The fight going the distance was the bigger upset.