This former Fresno State wrestler signed with Bellator ... and he’s ready for a fight
Isaiah Hokit enjoys fighting. That even meant coming to blows in grade school from time to time.
Oh sure, he wound up in his share of trouble. But that was OK by him, especially when others told him he reminded them of a former UFC star.
“I was called little Matt Hughes,” Hokit said of the UFC Hall of Famer. “I was known to be a fighter. Matt Hughes was the champ at the time. Us being wrestlers tied us both together. It’s kind of funny, my whole life I was asked, ‘Who are you going to fight?’ We’re here now.”
Hokit has signed a contract with the Bellator professional mixed martial arts circuit and hopes to make his debut in three months in the lightweight division.
Isaiah’s brother is Josh Hokit, who is on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad.
Both wrestled at Fresno State. Josh also played football for the Bulldogs, mostly as a running back, and has said he might give MMA a shot himself whenever his NFL career ends.
But it is Isaiah Hokit who is first to head into the cage.
“I’ve been kind of itching” to get into MMA, he said. “With COVID-19, it’s been real tough. I was actually expecting this whole time getting some amateur fights under my belt.”
Instead, Hokit has been sparring with AJ McKee, Joey Davis and Kevin Ferguson Jr., also know as Baby Slice, the son of the late Kimbo Slice, for their upcoming fights on a Nov. 19 Bellator card.
That is when the others took notice.
“I held my own for the most part,” he said. “The coach and manager was impressed with me and made the call to Bellator and they felt I was ready.”
Hokit said he didn’t always know as he was growing up what path he wanted to take.
He thought about teaching and coaching wrestling, but in college “it kind of sprung me to get to MMA.”
He sees signing with Bellator as a kind of “redemption,” because his college wrestling record wasn’t impressive.
Hokit wrestled at Clovis High and Fresno State, completing his collegiate career in 2019.
In two seasons at Fresno State, Hokit compiled a 30-26 record, competing at 157 and 165 pounds.
At Clovis, Hokit was a four-time California Interscholastic Federation state medalist.
“I felt I should’ve done something and didn’t,” he said. “There was internal and external things that held me back. I just felt at this point, I have a lot of potential. You’re only young once. You don’t want to live your life in regret. It’s something I’ve been passionate about.”
