UFC light-weight Dan Hooker has taken “preventing at house” to an entire new stage, by actually internet hosting a one-minute combat match in his personal yard. What began as a cheeky experiment has was a viral sensation, with Hooker’s yard brawls drawing extra consideration than some regional MMA playing cards.
Dan Hooker’s Yard Fights – Blood, beer, and $50K
“We had one-minute scraps within the again backyard.” Dan Hooker defined, in an interview with The Mac Life. Impressed by a visit to Thailand the place he hosted an identical occasion, Dan Hooker determined New Zealand’s tremendous heavyweights deserved their very own second. “Three fights into it, I used to be standing right here and I stated, ‘I knew this may be a good suggestion.’”
The setup was easy: fighters weighed in (with some inventive math), gloves went on, and the bell rang. “Some have been a bit cheeky with their weights,” Dan Hooker famous, recalling one fighter who claimed 180 kilos however tipped the scales at 202. “There are some items on the market, six foot seven, six foot 9. With respect, I say this with love: lots of people right here in New Zealand are actually bred to be bouncers.”
Regardless of the scale and energy on show, security was entrance and middle. “It ran clean, not a single concern. We knocked out about 30 fights in an hour, and no severe accidents,” Hooker stated. Probably the most severe mishap? “One fighter harm his arm punching another person, and that was essentially the most severe harm we had for the day. Everybody went house secure.”
The vibe shifted shortly from tense to festive. “It was a bit tense at first, I’m not going to lie. There was a bit of rigidity within the air. However after the third or fourth combat, individuals realized nobody’s getting judged—like, ‘Oh, you bought knocked out.’ Everybody was virtually supportive in a approach. It obtained into, let’s say, a household barbecue form of vibe to be trustworthy with you.”
For these anxious about yard chaos, Dan Hooker insists the whole lot was above board. “There have been judges, a really competent referee, medics, the whole lot was in place. Everybody did an unbelievable job.” Even the neighbors, apparently, have been unfazed.
Not everybody was satisfied, although. “A few boxing oldheads watched the identical Instagram video as everybody else and made assumptions. You make assumptions, you make an ass out of your self and an ass out of me,” Hooker quipped. “However they’re doing my promotion for me, I’m within the nationwide paper, I’m within the paper in Australia. Everybody desires to listen to about it.”
Matching fighters proved a problem, with weights starting from 95 to 205 kilos. “We matched related weights within the first spherical, so by the point it goes up, you’re getting skilled, skillful fighters and the weights turn into lots nearer. It wasn’t the heaviest or greatest man who had essentially the most success that day.”
As for the prize? “Fifty grand to the winner, and the physician was so proud of the way it all went, he gave a thousand bucks to all of the fighters as nicely. Everybody was tremendous respectful, even the neighbors have been cool. It was over earlier than anybody knew it began, and everybody obtained house secure. Nothing dangerous occurred.”
Dan Hooker isn’t achieved but. “We’ll do one other one. We’ll take into account this a North Island occasion after which plan on doing an occasion within the South Island. I’m not a promoter, I’m a fighter, I did it as a result of I used to be injured. Once I get bored, I’ve scraps within the again backyard. I simply thought it was an unbelievable concept.”
In the long run, Dan Hooker’s yard combat membership would possibly simply be essentially the most healthful, if barely bruising, neighborhood occasion New Zealand by no means knew it wanted.
