Less than 24 hours after a UFC fighter used a highly publicized White House match to lob a false insult at former first lady Michelle Obama, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and President Dana White called it “nasty and false,” dismissing it as “nonsense.
Summary AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor. Less than 24 hours after a UFC fighter used a highly publicized White House match to lob a false insult at former first lady Michelle Obama, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and President Dana White called it “nasty and false,” dismissing it as “nonsense.
” The White House did not follow suit. President Donald Trump was seen smiling briefly Sunday after UFC fighter Josh Hokit made a false and offensive remark about the former first lady during his post-fight speech at the White House. Hokit praised Trump for hosting the fight, before adding: “And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?
” A mixture of cheers and boos rippled through the crowd. The false remarks about Obama have previously circulated online. White told Time magazine in a text message Monday: “I understand that the Obama’s are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families. Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.
” A UFC spokesperson directed CNN to White’s comment. They did not respond when asked whether Hokit had been disciplined over the remark. In response to an inquiry from CNN’s Jake Tapper about Hokit’s comments, White House communications director Steven Cheung said the UFC fighter “had a great win last night. He showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent both on his feet and on the ground.
” • Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/22717946-tapper-ufc-digvid.jpg?c=16x9" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/22717946-tapper-ufc-digvid.jpg?c=16x9" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html=" " data-timestamp-html=" PUBLISHED Jun 15, 2026, 1:34 PM ET " data-check-event-based-preview="" data-is-vertical-video-embed="false" data-network-id="" data-publish-date="2026-06-15T17:04:05.915Z" data-video-section="politics" data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/15/politics/video/josh-hokit-michelle-obama-ufc-white-house-digvid-vrtc" data-branding-key="" data-video-slug="josh-hokit-michelle-obama-ufc-white-house-digvid-vrtc" data-first-publish-slug="josh-hokit-michelle-obama-ufc-white-house-digvid-vrtc" data-video-tags="vertical" data-breakpoints='{"video-resource--media-extra-large": 660}' data-display-video-cover="true" data-vertical-orientation="true" data-details=""> Video Ad Feedback White House refuses to condemn UFC fighter who smeared Michelle Obama UFC fighter Josh Hokit insulted former first lady Michelle Obama at Sunday's UFC Freedom 250 event. When asked about Hokit's comment, the White House refused to directly address the question.
CNN's Jake Tapper reports. 2:17 • Source: CNN White House refuses to condemn UFC fighter who smeared Michelle Obama 2:17 The White House declined to respond when pressed by Tapper on how officials square their refusal to criticize the disparaging remarks against Obama when they protest insults against first lady Melania Trump. President Trump himself has ridiculed Obama.
Earlier this year, Trump refused to apologize after posting and then deleting a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and the former first lady as apes in a jungle, insisting he hadn’t seen the final frames containing the offensive content and blaming a staffer for the mistake. In remarks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Michelle Obama said, “For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us.
See his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two highly educated successful people, who happen to be Black. ” On Monday, the Democratic Party’s X account posted an image of Obama smiling, writing: “Michelle Obama lives in their heads rent-free. ” CNN has reached out to the former first lady’s office for comment.
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
White House UFC Fighter Josh Hokit Shouts ‘Michelle Obama Is a Man’ in Post-Match InterviewAfter his fight during Sunday night's UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn, Josh Hokit insulted former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Read more »
UFC President Dana White Calls White House Correspondents' Dinner 'F***ing Awesome'UFC President Dana White has called the shooting at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner 'f***ing awesome', after he and others were evacuated from the gala. The shooting started getting noisy, tables were getting flipped over, and guys were running in with guns, White said while walking out of the hotel. They were screaming Get down, but, he added, Build a f***ing roof, like you've got all the money in the world, right? You want to do this for f***ing America? Build a 4,000-seat arena, get a f***ing barndominium.
Read more »
Don't expect a repeat. UFC boss Dana White says 'never again' to another White House fight nightUFC CEO Dana White called fight night at the White House a smashing success
Read more »
Dana White Condemns UFC Fighter’s ‘Nasty’ Michelle Obama Comment: ‘I Hate That Kind of Nonsense’UFC boss Dana White condemned Josh Hokit's 'Michelle Obama is a man' comment at the White House Freedom 250 event, calling it 'nasty and false.'
Read more »