Dan Hooker has never been one to play it safe. From stepping into the Octagon with killers to hosting underground fistfights in his own backyard, ‘The Hangman’ thrives on chaos. But just when fans thought they’d seen it all, Hooker has cranked things up a notch, and this time, he’s handed the spotlight to the ladies.
After the wild success (and controversy) of his first One Minute Scraps event, Hooker is back with a new twist. Thirty-two women, zero weight classes, and $50,000 on the line. The result? A full-on battle royale set to go down this Sunday in New Zealand!
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Hooker revealed that after landing in New Zealand, he finalized the entire card as he shared, “When I landed back in New Zealand yesterday, I sorted it all out. So, I got my 32, my 32 girls all locked in. Then you sort it out, everything’s good to go. So this Sunday, sh—will be going down.”
But unlike his last event, which already stirred up headlines and legal concerns, the UFC lightweight star decided this one needed more heat. When asked whether the setting was different this time, ‘The Hangman’ just laughed and confessed, “More, more, I was feeling like this wasn’t controversial enough, so I’ve turned up the controversy. There’ll be a lot… there’ll be plenty of controversy.”
MMA: UFC Fight Night-Allen vs Hooker, Mar 19, 2022 London, UK Dan Hooker blue gloves before his fight against Arnold Allen during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports, 19.03.2022 23:18:08, 17931803, UFC Fight Night, Dan Hooker, Arnold Allen, MMA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xPerxHaljestamx 17931803
And then came the jaw-dropper. When pressed about the weight limits for the event, Hooker revealed that there are none. But when pressed for details, he revealed a shocking fact, “I think 180 kilos is my heaviest.” That’s 396 lbs, way beyond even the UFC limit for heavyweight fighters, which is capped at 265 lbs!
The interview host was just as stunned as he asked whether the weight was truly “legit”. Hookers response? He doubled down stating, “Yea like considering, or I had all the guys come in and pretty much all of them f— lied about their weights and one of them said like, ‘yeah, I’m 180 kilos, and then he showed up like 205 kilos. Like most of the guys, everyone’s underselling it. So I assume the ladies are swinging way under what they actually are.”
His first One Minute Scraps event, held in May and featuring 32 men, sent shockwaves through New Zealand. The local press blasted it, and even local boxing officials took aim. But according to Hooker, the chaos was just surface noise.
Dan Hooker fires back on “old boxing heads” for criticism over his backyard brawl event
Back during the Memorial Day in May, Dan Hooker’s backyard played host to one of the wildest combat sports event in recent memory. As mentioned earlier, the UFC lightweight hosted an open-weight brawl that delivered 30 fights in just one hour. Knockouts and haymakers flew in all directions, but was it reckless? ‘The Hangman’ didn’t think so.
In a conversation with ‘The Mac Life’, the UFC star claimed, “It ran smooth, not a single issue… We had one fighter hurt his arm punching someone else. And that was the most serious injury we had for the day. Bumps and scrapes, like everyone came and funned it up. And win lose or draw, everyone carried themselves real well.”
Still, the backlash was fierce. Reports claimed fighters from as many as nine New Zealand gangs were involved. Media outlets called it “thuggery.” But Hooker wasn’t rattled as he fired back with, “Some old boxing heads watched the same Instagram videos as everyone else and they just made assumptions… Sheer f—kery. I’m sitting at home in my frog PJs with my daughter saying ‘Yeah, I’m a real thug, mate.’”
‘The Hangman’ even made it clear he took the safety of all participants involved seriously, despite the backyard setting. He confirmed that he had judges present, medics on-site, and every fighter was medically checked before competing. Hooker emphasized that all the necessary precautions were in place and said he consulted the right people to ensure everything was cleared beforehand.
To wrap things up, love it or hate it, Dan Hooker’s backyard fight club isn’t going anywhere. With 396-pound female fighters, no weight classes, and a $50,000 prize on the line this time, One Minute Scraps is shaping up to be as wild as it is controversial. So, will Sunday’s showdown silence the critics, or just give them more ammo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
The post Dan Hooker Embraces Controversy as 396 Lbs Female Fighter Competes in His $50,000 Battle Royale This Weekend appeared first on EssentiallySports.
