Dustin Poirier had high praise for Josh Hockitt after his performance at UFC 327 in Miami on Saturday.
Hockit spent fight week taunting top-ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes and even went after headliners Carlos Ulberg and Jiri Prochazka, drawing mixed reactions from UFC fans.
However, when it came time to perform, Hockit bested Blaydes in an all-out battle on the main card at the Kasia Center and took home the $200,000 prize money along with two performance bonuses.
Lightweight legend addresses performance about the last battleDrawing a direct line between Hokit's willingness to back up his words and the rise of some of the game's biggest stars.
"When the stars start to align, you've seen it in Conor McGregor, you talk the talk, and you walk the walk," Poirier said. "You've seen it in 'Suga' Sean O'Malley. You've seen it in Chael Sonnen. We've seen it time and time again where guys talk the talk and walk away, and Hokit has done that this week.
"He talked about a big game, and he went out there and had one of the best heavyweight bouts we've ever seen and raised his hand. Good things happen, you become a star."
Hockit, now 9-0 in MMA and 3-0 in the UFC, was immediately rewarded with a high-profile next assignment. He is booked to face Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House, a booking that shows how seriously the promotion is taking his early momentum inside the Octagon.
