Dan Hooker is one of the hardest fighters in the UFC. He is not afraid to trade combos until he loses his breath. However, “The Hangman” has been out of action for the past few months because of a hand injury, and it looks like he is satisfying his craving for some hardcore action in his backyard.
Dan Hooker Speaks About His 1-Minute Backyard Fights
A few days ago, Hooker shared a video clip of some big men fighting in his backyard. He captioned the post, “1 min fights, No weight limit, 32 men, $50,000 winner take all.” In the video, his neighbors crowded around his backyard. Some of them were fighters, and others were there to watch people fight. Hooker even managed to get a referee for fair play.
“The Hangman” recently appeared on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” where he was asked about his viral “1-minute scraps.” Hooker revealed that he didn’t really tell his neighbors about it. They started peeking through his fence and figured out what was happening.
His neighbors even helped him set up the event. Hooker said, “One of my neighbors helped me trim my hedges to get it ready, to get the arena ready. Another neighbor on the other side, I invited him over. He came and he watched. Straight after the event, he walked up to me and said, ‘That’s one of the most respectful crowds he’s come across.’ He thought it was a real cool event.”
Each fight was one minute long, and the fighters could only use punches. Apart from a referee, there were judges and a medic to keep the event organized and safe. The fight had rules as well. If a fighter gets knocked down for three seconds or more, he is considered the loser. And if someone gets knocked down twice, it would be considered a TKO loss. Every participant got $1000, and the winner won $50,000.
Hooker Wants To Continue His Backyard Fights as a Response to the Critics
Organizing such an event comes with its own challenges. Hooker received some complaints from different people, and they had only motivated him to continue the tournament, even though he was not planning to do it initially.
Hooker said, “Deter me? I feel like you’re now — you’ve challenged me now. I was going to leave it. There’s people trying to stop me? Now I have to do it. Now I’m unbound and forced to pursue it.”
1 min fights
No weight limit
32 men
$50,000 winner take all pic.twitter.com/7UdiAWksTQ— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) May 24, 2025
“The Hangman” also has an answer for his critics who misunderstand the game. He said, “Once everyone watches the full 45 minutes and just sees the respect for all the fighters that’s shown to each other, you see that it’s just a couple of guys who end up putting gloves on in the backyard.
“When did having a punch-out with your mates become illegal? Since when was that a crime? And it’s being run by some of the most experienced combat sports people in the country. Thousands of fights, medically trained. If that’s illegal, then they’ve got better things to do.”
Hooker got the idea from a Russian fight show that happened in Thailand in a warehouse. He brought some fighters with him from there and got the rest after many approached him after watching his Instagram video. However, whether one supports the event or not, it can’t be denied that “The Hangman” finds ridiculous ways to entertain fans through fights, even when he is not fighting.