Greg
Jackson won’t be in the corner of Josh Hokit or Steve Garcia at UFC
White House. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Two
Jackson-Wink MMA athletes will be without one of their primary
coaches on the biggest stage of their careers to date.
According to a report from the Albuquerque Journal, Greg Jackson will not
corner Josh Hokit
or Steve
Garcia in their bouts at
UFC White House on June 14. Hokit initially revealed the news
on social media, saying that Jackson wouldn’t be present for
“personal reasons.” Hokit will face Derrick
Lewis at heavyweight, will Garcia will square off against
Diego
Lopes in a featherweight tilt.
My coach Greg Jackson will not be coaching
me on the White House fight for personal reasons… I don’t have a
coach now… will the ring girls corner me please… tag them for
me🙏— The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC)
April 18, 2026
Sitting This One Out
This week, Jackson confirmed to the Journal via text message that
he won’t be coaching either Hokit or Garcia at the event, which
will be held on the South Lawn at the White House on President
Donald Trump’s birthday. The event is being held in recognition of
the United States’ 250th birthday.
“I won’t be there for either guy this time,” Jackson wrote, “but
I’m keeping [the reason] off the record.”
Jackson, who co-founded Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, along with Mike Winkeljohn, has coached a number of big
name fighters over the years, including Georges St.
Pierre, Jon Jones,
Rashad
Evans, Holly Holm,
Carlos
Condit, Donald
Cerrone, Diego
Sanchez, John Dodson
and Michelle
Waterson-Gomez, to name a few.
Hokit emerged as a person of interest at heavyweight after taking a
unanimous decision over Curtis
Blaydes in a “Fight of the Year” contender at UFC 327 on April
11. That helped propel “The Incredible Hok” into a last-minute spot
on the White House lineup against Lewis, the promotion’s all-time
knockout leader.
Garcia, meanwhile, has compiled a seven-fight winning streak in the
Octagon at 145-pounds, finishing all but one of those victories via
knockout or technical knockout. Most recently, “Mean Machine”
stopped David Onama
in the opening stanza in the UFC Fight Night 263 headliner this
past November.