UFC star Dan Hooker has found himself at the center of controversy after hosting a backyard combat sports tournament in Auckland that caught the attention of New Zealand law enforcement.
The $33,500 prize event, held at Hooker’s Auckland home on May 24, featured 32 amateur competitors engaging in one-minute contests on his lawn. The tournament has sparked debate after one participant, Jon Paul ‘Fightdog’ Te Rito, a senior member of the Mongrel Mob gang, was alleged to have violated his bail conditions by participating.
According to a Department of Corrections representative, Te Rito was supposed to be attending a rehabilitation program at the time of the competition. Notably, footage from the event showed Te Rito competing while wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle.
The matter was referred to police, prompting Hooker to intervene on Te Rito’s behalf. The 35-year-old UFC lightweight wrote a letter of support, describing his event as a “platform for self expression, and a healthy outlet to cope with life’s pressures.”
“Physical activity is a proven tool to help men overcome mental health issues, such as depression or addiction,” Hooker wrote. “It can be more productive than an unrelatable counselling session.”
Hooker later announced on Instagram that Te Rito had been released from custody, stating, “The judge ruled his attendance at my event did not breach his bail and he was able to return home.” The post included what appeared to be a celebration outside a courthouse with Te Rito’s supporters.
The backyard tournament gained wider attention after Hooker released video footage of all 30 contests on YouTube, showing elderly neighbors watching in apparent disbelief over the fence. The unregulated nature of the event drew sharp criticism from New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association president Billy Meehan, who described it as “straight-out thuggery.”
“What you’ve got there is just thugs getting in there and going out and they’re just like absolutely smashing each other, and we’re going to see somebody get seriously hurt, if not killed,” Meehan told Checkpoint. “It’s just barbaric, the biggest issue is the people getting in the ring half the time aren’t conditioned enough to be there, they aren’t matched correctly.”
Fellow UFC star Israel Adesanya helped promote the event, encouraging participants to “Bring the family, bring the whanau [Māori for extended family], come watch, you’ll get knocked out or knock someone the f*** out.”
In response to critics, Hooker maintained that the event broke no laws and was conducted safely under supervision of experienced combat sports professionals. He implemented safety measures including a three-second knockdown rule and stopping contests after two knockdowns.
“There’s a few lefties having a sulk, but once everyone watches the full 45 minutes and sees the respect for the fighters, since when did putting gloves on in the backyard and having a punch-up become illegal?” Hooker told the Ariel Helwani Show.
Rather than discouraging him, the criticism has apparently motivated Hooker to organize future events. “Now you’ve challenged me. I was going to leave it but now there are people trying to stop me,” he said. “Now I am honour-bound and forced to pursue it.”
One participant, Cameron Harcourt, defended the event as providing a controlled environment for inevitable confrontations. “We’re going to [compete] anyway,” he said. “The thuggery is taken out and we’ve turned it into a sport.”
