Controversy was sparked at UFC Freedom 250, an event commemorating the 250th birthday of the United States, with a series of fights at the White House.

While the spectacle attracted millions of viewers, it was a comment made by fast-rising heavyweight fighter, Josh Hokit, that has received the most attention from both fans and critics.

Moments after he took down Derrick Lewis, the UFC fighter called former first lady Michelle Obama “a man”, in a post-fight interview.

After winning against Lewis following a technical knockout, Hokit was interviewed by podcaster Joe Rogan.

Hokit is known for his controversial interviews

As those familiar with his personality braced themselves for controversial quotes, the first thing he said in the interview was calling out the new heavyweight contender, Alex Pereira.

Either insulting or mocking his competition, he said: “Alex Pereira I wanna chama on your mama”.

Closing the interview on Sunday, Hokit, completely out of pocket, said: "Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right America?"

While his reason for hitting out at the former president Barack Obama’s wife is unknown, Hokit is known for his unique personality and lack of traditional media training.

The fighter turned up to this weekend's weigh-in drunk

The interview comes just a day after a video of Hokit’s weigh-in for the Freedom 250 went viral as he appeared to be extremely drunk and vomited on himself between sentences.

Despite the disgusting display, the rising UFC star seemed unfazed by his unprofessional appearance and said to the crowd: “So what, maybe I was drinking last night. Who wouldn't be. I have a giant black man that wants to knock me out."

Nicknamed "The Incredible Hoke”, the MMA star built his career on the 49ers' practice squad in the NFL as a fullback after playing football at Fresno State.

The weekend’s event, UFC Freedom 250, was held on the White House lawn as part of the many celebrations commemorating America’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

A towering structure nicknamed “The Claw” was erected on the White House lawn and stood taller than the presidential residency itself.

The lawn was opened up to 4,500 fans with space allocated for 100,000 more people to watch the action for free on screens just outside the grounds.

The event kicked off with President Donald Trump emerging from the Oval Office first, then fighters from around the globe following him into the fight cage.

Featured image credit: Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC / Getty Images

Jake Paul has branded UFC president Dana White a "douche" - taking their ongoing rivalry to a new level.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer hit out at White on Twitter in a fiery post that called him out over money disputes.

The feud kickstarted soon after Paul knocked out UFC star Ben Askren in the first round of their boxing match last week, in what was just his third fight since turning professional.

Credit: Sipa USA / Alamy

After emerging victorious, the 24-year-old claimed on Instagram that the fight attracted 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, with the event generating around $75 million.

But the claim did not sit well with White, who was quick to shut down Paul's comment as he suggested that the boxer was spreading fake news.

Saying that the numbers were "full of s***" and "not even f***ing close" to the truth, White added fuel to the fire.

Credit: ZUMA Wire / Alamy

Paul then rushed to Twitter to slam the UFC president, writing: "Dana you claimed you would bet $1M on me losing. Set up Askren to train with Freddie Roach… gave him full access to UFCPI… and he still got his ass handed to him.

"Seems like you are the real douche…not Ariel."

His tweet appeared to be referencing ESPN MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, whom White called a "douche" in February during an unrelated feud.

Paul's tweet continued: "In my third fight I made more in total pay than any fighter in UFC history.

"Maybe it’s time to pay your fighters their fair share? No wonder they all want to get into boxing."

Credit: MediaPunch / Alamy

Paul's heated comments come after White slammed the boxer's chances of ever fighting in the UFC.

The UFC president wrote: "The numbers are there? Nah. I don’t know if the numbers are there

"Do you know what would happen to this guy [in the UFC]? He ain’t fighting in the UFC. He’s getting hand-picked opponents, and God knows what else is going on with that whole f***ing thing.

"There is a market for that. That is not what I do. That’s not what I do. People want to see that, and it’s great, and this kid’s going to make a couple bucks before this ride is over. It’s just not what I do."

Featured image credit: Sipa USA / Alamy

Barack Obama has revealed that he once broke somebody's nose after being racially abused by them.

The former President of the United States revealed that he threw a punch at another boy in his high school basketball team in a recent episode of his six-part Spotify-exclusive podcast Renegades: Born in the USA - alongside his co-host, rock icon Bruce Springsteen.

In a frank and open discussion about race in modern America, 59-year-old Obama reflected on his own experience of racially-aggravated abuse in the school locker room in the seventh grade.

Credit: PA Images

Per People, Obama stated:

"When I was in school I had a friend, we played basketball together, and one time we got into a fight and he called me a c**n.

"Now, first of all, ain't no c**ns in Hawaii, right? It's one of those things where he might not even know what a c***n was.

"What he knew was: 'I can hurt you by saying this.'"

The former POTUS continued:  "I remember I popped him in the face and broke his nose... It was just reactive. I said: 'What?!' and I popped him.

"He was like: 'Why'd you do that?' and I explained to him. I said: 'Don't you ever call me something like that.'"

Obama went on to describe to 71-year-old Springsteen his view on the psychology and mindset behind the use of racial slurs, stating that a racist-minded person would think: "'I may be poor. I may be ignorant. I may be mean. I may be ugly. I may not like myself. I may be unhappy. But you know what I’m not? I’m not you.'"

Obama added: "That basic psychology that then gets institutionalized is used to justify dehumanizing somebody, taking advantage of them, cheating them, stealing from them, killing them, raping them.

"Whatever it is, at the end of the day it really comes down to that. And, in some cases, it’s as simple as, you know: 'I’m scared, I’m insignificant and not important. And this thing is the thing that’s going to give me some importance.'"

An image of Barack Obama.

According to The New York Post, Obama previously spoke about the incident in a passage in his 1995 memoir Dreams of My Father, but this is reportedly the first-ever time the ex-Democrat leader has spoken about the incident publicly.

Barack Obama is speaking out after President Donald Trump shared a video on social media depicting the former president and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. The clip, which was later deleted, sparked backlash from Democrats and Republicans alike and reignited tensions between the two political figures.

During an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, the 44th President of the United States addressed the controversy head on, criticizing what he described as troubling behavior from the current administration. Obama suggested that many Americans are uneasy with Trump’s online activity and broader public conduct.

The remarks mark one of Obama’s most direct responses to Trump in recent months, as debate over political rhetoric and standards of conduct continues to dominate headlines.

Obama calls out loss of decorum

In the interview, Obama referred to both the social media posts and the administration’s public behaviors as a "clown show" and expressed concern about what he sees as a decline in standards tied to the presidency. He also lamented the loss of "decorum" and "propriety" in connection with the nation’s highest office.

The video at the center of the controversy was posted to President Trump’s official Truth Social account last week before being removed. The clip drew criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Bipartisan criticism and White House response

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt initially pushed back on the outrage, telling TMZ to "stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."

However, some members of the president’s own party publicly rebuked the post. Republican Senator Tim Scott described it as "the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House."

President Trump later shifted responsibility to an unnamed White House staffer and maintained he did not need to apologize. In a separate clip, he insisted he "DIDN'T MAKE A MISTAKE."

Obama, for his part, said the American people would ultimately decide how they feel about the administration’s actions when they head to the ballot box.

Featured image credit: Tom Williams / Getty

The Notorious Conor McGregor, fresh off his fight with Floyd Mayweather, is probably the biggest name in all of MMA history, at least in the United States. In fighting period, he's more well-known than any boxer or martial artist. With such a big profile, people tend to start looking to you for cultural guidance. Perhaps it is misplaced. But now, McGregor is in hot water for defying that trust of cultural guidance, and instead rattling off homophobic slurs like an Irish sailor. Multiple sports publications have reported that Conor McGregor consoled a fellow fighter by condemning his opponent as, well, the f-word. According to Yahoo! Sports, McGregor had said: "Do you know what I'm saying? He was a f****t, and everyone knew he was a f****t..." It's reminiscent of famous YouTuber PewDiePie, with more viewers than most major cable networks, who said the n-word during what has been called a "heated gaming moment". Using the most offensive words possible is something people do when they are angry, whether it's right or wrong. Probably wrong. But McGregor's opponent, Floyd Mayweather, made similar gaffes recently. Maybe it's endemic to the fighting world? Mayweather had called McGregor a "f****t" once in the lead-up to their major fight, at a July press conference in England. Mayweather has also since defended Donald Trump's "grab them by the p***y" comments, making himself quite the anti-PC figure. But are we really surprised? I mean, come on, these guys beat the living sh*t out of each other for their job. They are not going to be polished speakers, or gentlemen. They are our modern-day gladiatorial, if we're okay with all the concussions and blood, why is the rough language associated with violence considered worse than the gladiatorial itself? I would never justify McGregor's comments, as they are of course absurd and out of line. But I don't think it's out-of-character for him to do this. Over the summer, he also caught heat for racially-motivated statements directed at Mayweather, such as saying "Dance for me boy", evoking stereotypes of black performance for the white gaze. Will these statements really make you lose interest in McGregor? Well, judging by his career, seemingly not. I also imagine that Mayweather's legacy and public image is pristine, despite literally being a domestic abuser. If beating your girlfriend means you can still be the champ, why should we dump McGregor over a slur that Mayweather has also said far more publicly in the past? Again, it seems pretty endemic to the spirit of fighting. So many fighters are all in a glass house on this one. But what do you think? Should McGregor be banned from the Octagon (very unlikely) for this slur? Or should the fans hold him responsible, and let him know that we don't find it okay? I prefer the latter. In other McGregor news, he's slated to fight soon in the upcoming future. If more comes of these slurs and his future career, we'll be sure to cover it.

Jake Paul has spent much of his time since knocking out former NBA point guard Nate Robinson in two rounds calling out UFC great Conor McGregor for a boxing match.

Quite how two bouts - one against a novice YouTuber and the other against Robinson, who many feel should not have been given a license to fight - would prepare Paul for one of the most explosive MMA fighters of all time is unclear.

You can watch Jake Paul's bizarre, expletive-laden call out of Conor McGegor right here:

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Possibly - probably - Jake Paul's incessant babble in calling out McGregor and his team member Dillon Danis is mere bluster and self-promotion, but either way the 23-year-old YouTuber may be wishing he'd chosen his words a little more carefully in recent days.

After Paul issued a bizarre, expletive-laden call out video to Conor McGregor, he was slammed by UFC star Nate Diaz on Twitter.

"Jake Paul u need your *ss beat for free u spoiled f*ck u can’t really fight dumbsh*t your gonna end up with your *ss whooped for real somewhere talking like that," Diaz wrote.

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And now, UFC President Dana White has responded to Paul, saying that he was “thinking of letting Amanda Nunes knock his *ss out.” Nunes is widely considered to be one of the greatest female mixed martial arts fighters of all time.

The bantamweight and featherweight champ responded to Dana White's words on Twitter, simply writing "I'm in!"

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In the bizarre, expletive-laden call out video, Jake Paul says:

"Good morning, Conor McGregor. I know you are probably beating up old dudes in a bar right now or maybe you are jacking off because you are sick of f***ing your wife right now because she is a four.

"Conor you could do a lot better. But happy Monday. My team sent you a 50 million dollar offer this morning, 50 million dollars cash, proof of funds, the biggest fight offer you've ever been offered, but you are scared to fight me Conor, you are ducking me because you don't want to lose to a f****** YouTuber.

"You are a 0-1 as a boxer, I'm 2-0 as a boxer. I just came off the eighth biggest pay-per-view event in history, but you want to fight Dustin Prober [Poirier] who has less followers on Instagram than my f****** dog, that's a fact."

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He then goes on to blast UFC president Dana White, saying:

"Dana White, you are a f****** p**** too. You ugly f****** bald b*tch," the YouTuber said.

"You say there is a zero percent chance of this fight happening but there is a zero percent chance of you getting some f****** p****. Conor, you are scared. Dana, you are scared. Sign the f****** contract you idiots, Jesus f****** Christ. Irish b****."

Conor McGregor is set to return to the octagon in January to fight Dustin Poirier in a highly anticipated bout.