UFC fighter gives crazy excuse for calling Michelle Obama a man: 'I was giving her a compliment'

UFC heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit has made a pathetic attempt of an excuse for calling Michelle Obama 'a man' after his win at the White House.

On June 15 the UFC held a historic fight card on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC with some of the best fights of the year taking place,

What was otherwise an exciting event was undermined by Joe Rogan's post-fight interview with UFC heavyweight Hokit following his win over veteran fighter Derrick Lewis.

Hokit, who has made a name for himself in recent months for making outrageous statements, got on the microphone following the knockout win to declare that former first lady Obama was a man.

“Michelle Obama is a man, am I right America?” the 28-year-old yelled, with the crowd immediately groaning in reaction.

Since then, fans, pundits and even UFC boss Dana White have criticised Hokit's comments, with many claiming he had damaged not just his own image but that of the UFC with the bizarre and disgusting comment.

But now, the American fighter has doubled down on his outburst, defending while speaking with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

“I thought I was giving her a complement,” Hokit said.

After Helwani replied saying nobody viewed it that way, Hokit continued to explain why he felt he was actually being complimentary to Obama.

He added: “Michelle Obama being a man, it’s like, she knows how to deal with adversity. She knows how to work hard like a man when the times get tough. You know… the tough keep going."

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However, just seconds later Hokit completely contradicts himself, referring to the comment as a 'perfect time to take a jab'.

"It was a perfect opportunity to show the world how great this country is with freedom of speech... In other parts of the world, you say something like that and you die," he claimed.

"There's a certain side that pokes at another side and there's no outrage there so I thought it was the perfect time to take a jab.

"That's one thing about my career... You'll never hear me backtrack from what I say."

Dana White slams Josh Hokit for Michelle Obama comments

On several occasions since the White House card, UFC President and CEO White has addressed Hokit's comments.

Following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card, which was headlined by Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi, the UFC boss directly addressed the moment, condemning Hokit and his comments.

“Disgusting. There’s always going to be people that say things that most of us don’t agree with. I mean, just the time, the place, you know," White said.

He then added: “I voted for Obama the first time, I didn’t vote for the second time. Then, when I was at the inauguration, he was sitting in front of me. And Obama was the only one that turned around to me, couldn’t have been a nicer guy and said, ‘Congratulations on all your success and everything that you’ve done.’ I said, ‘Thank you, Mr. President.’

“You got to listen to f****** stupid s*** like that sometimes, unfortunately, because I also believe in free speech,” he concluded.

Days later, White once again brought up the incident during an interview with Tomi Lahren discussing the White House event.

“You think I’m happy about what Josh Hokit said, the night I’m trying to unify the country and he goes out and says something absolutely stupid," White said.