Dan Hooker isn’t just pushing the envelope with his ‘One Minute Scraps,’ he’s shredding it entirely. The UFC lightweight has already made headlines with his raw, backyard-style brawls, but his next move takes the chaos to a new level. No more matchmaking politics or planning. Just a hat full of names, a crowd watching, and two fighters finding out their fate seconds before the bell.

The rules? Simple yet ruthless. Thirty-two men, all convicted criminals, will enter, but no one knows who they will face until their names are drawn. Hooker’s vision strips away the study strategy and safety net of preparation, forcing each bout to rely entirely on instinct and grit. “Add fuel to the fire,” he promised in his latest Instagram post, teasing the carnage this format will unleash.

‘The Hangman’ put it out clearly in his video announcement. “For the next fight, the 32 fighters’ names will go into the hat, and on the spot, their names will be drawn out randomly, and they will step up to the plate and compete straight away,” he stated. The twist ensures that even pre-fight callouts are meaningless, and the element of surprise becomes the ultimate equalizer.

However, the Christchurch event is about much more than the fighters. The 35-year-old also issued a lighthearted challenge to the media, promising to give one lucky reporter an exclusive interview, chosen at random from those who messaged him with their contact information. Dan Hooker even provided screenshots of coverage from various publications.

His Instagram caption set the tone for the event: “KING OF THE SOUTH announcement… matches will be made on the spot and at random.” “May the best convict win.” The statement reaffirmed Hooker’s dedication to unpredictability, assuring that no one, including the fighters, can control the narrative until the first punch lands.

With critics already labeling the format dangerous and reckless, Hooker seems unfazed. He sees it as a raw and honest return to fighting’s primal roots, a bare-bones battlefield for men with nothing to lose and everything to prove. And, if the roaring online anticipation is any indication, ‘One Minute Scraps’ in Christchurch could be his most explosive and controversial fight night yet. A move that will earn him massive respect from fight fans, while the same cannot be said about the UFC.

Dan Hooker claims the UFC doesn’t respect him

Dan Hooker’s defiance in Christchurch reflects his attitude toward the UFC. The 35-year-old claims he won’t “break his back” for a company that doesn’t respect him, citing the cancellation of his tickets to watch colleague Kai Kara-France face Alexandre Pantoja after he missed a 3 AM media obligation in New Zealand time.

For ‘The Hangman,’ it was a clear indication that years of struggle do not ensure basic respect. He said, “You think there would be a bit more respect there for guys who literally give their lives. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into putting on shows for that company.”

Dan Hooker also believes the UFC stacked the odds against him. The 35-year-old claims that before his March fight with Justin Gaethje was scrapped due to injury, the bout was reduced from five rounds to three, which increased his frustrations with the biggest MMA promotion in the world. Another sticking point is the pay structure; an extra $20,000 for 10 more minutes of labor isn’t worth it.

According to him, it’s comparable to working double shifts for about the same income. Hooker argued that the UFC always has multiple contenders in the lightweight title race, Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, and Paddy Pimblett, to prevent giving any fighter too much leverage. For him, it just shows how the UFC operates on its own terms, and he is now prepared to do the same.