Dan Hooker is putting his UFC layoff to good use as the lightweight contender channeled his inner Kimbo Slice this week by hosting a backyard fight league in New Zealand.
Itâs been a little while since fight fans have seen âHangmanâ compete inside of the UFCâs Octagon. Hooker is coming off a spectacular performance against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 back in Aug. 2024 that extended his current win streak to three and subsequently lined him up to fight Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 this past March. It was going to be Hookerâs biggest fight to date and a chance for him to creep into the lightweight title picture.
Unfortunately, Hooker suffered a gnarly hand injury that required surgery and booted him from his matchup against Gaethje. Making matters worse, Hooker suffered a setback in his recovery and just had a second surgery on his hand earlier this month. The ailment has left Hooker on the UFC sidelines, but it gives him more free time to branch out and do some pretty awesome Dan Hooker things.
On Saturday, Hooker took to social media to share a backyard fight league that he put together in New Zealand. It may not be as prolific as Kimbo Sliceâs legendary backyard fighting in Miami, Fla., but Hooker is doing his best. The clip he shared even featured a monstrous one-punch knockout, which âHangmanâ said was the first fight of the day.
Did this already happen?
Are they gunna go live???
I mean, thereâs videos of the fights posted so i think it happenedâŚ
For a minute there, i thought this thread was going in a different directionâŚ
hahahahhaaahahaahahaa
I had so many questions ready in the chamber. How exactly does a hooker get laid off? How do you jump from prostitution to fight promotion? What does that resume look like? Does this confirm that the two really arent that different? How good IS being a hooker as a base for MMA? Is it really backyard MMA or is that hooker code for something else entirely?
Yeah, I was expecting something very differentâŚ
He could also make some custom exhausts for hot rods
Same