Dan Hooker’s grueling hand injury definitely kept him out of the cage, but it couldn’t keep him out of combat sports. While he was on a recovery hiatus, ‘The Hangman’ decided to create a tournament with 32 participants fighting for 60 seconds for a hefty $50,000 prize. Not inside an arena, but right in the Kiwi’s backyard. Hooker became the promoter of this very interesting setup, and soon viewers started flocking in to watch some violent scraps. Now, the UFC’s top brass is interested.

Hooker’s 1 Minute Scrap tournament last streamed on The Mac Life YouTube channel on November 3 and pulled a staggering 453,137 views. So, fans clearly show interest in watching ‘The Hangman’-promoted fights. Now, ahead of his UFC Qatar bout against Arman Tsarukyan, the lightweight contender revealed that UFC CBO Hunter Campbell wants to hire some heavyweights from his promotion.

Hunter Campbell is interested in signing heavyweights from Dan Hooker’s One Minute Scraps 

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Hooker said, “Like the big bosses obviously have their eyes on. I bumped into Hunter Campbell in the hotel when I was over there for the UFC Perth. He was like, ‘Man, I’m watching, I’m watching, the One Minute Scraps.’ He was like, ‘We need some of those boys in our heavyweight division.’ There are definitely doors open for these guys, and opportunities will spring up for sure.”

Well, Dan Hooker’s backyard brawl mostly targets really big fighters; the 1-Minute Scraps doesn’t enforce any weight limit. So, according to the format of the show, anyone can step in for these violent scraps. Although ‘The Hangman’ hasn’t mentioned which specific heavyweights he wants to see inside the Octagon, he has hyped up his promotion’s fighters as not only big but also skillful.

He told The Mac Life in May, “You match them in the first round, similar to weights, so by the time it goes up, you’re getting experienced, skillful fighters, the weights become a lot closer to each other. And going into it, experienced guys fighting experienced guys, less experienced guys, or bigger guys fighting the bigger guys.”  

It might be easy for a fan to think that Dan Hooker does these kinds of shows just for fun, which is true to some extent. However, statements like these from the lightweight contender create a promise that the promotion might actually become a platform for rising combat sport athletes. Remember, Jorge Masvidal made a name for himself in Kibo Slice’s backyard long before entering the UFC. Also, the UFC heavyweight division is getting interesting with rising contenders such as Valter Walker and Ante Delija making their names.

So the promotion could actually look forward to adding some new faces from ‘The Hangman’s’ promotion. However, Hooker doesn’t want to keep it to just one gender. He has invited the ladies to participate as well. 

‘The Hangman’ wants to include women fighters as well 

In modern times, fighting has transcended every boundary, and even women have become an integral part of the sport. From MMA to boxing, the ladies have shone bright, and because of that, Dan Hooker doesn’t want to miss out on some women’s action either. ‘The Hangman’ understands that the ladies can put on a show, and according to a New Zealand Herald article, he’s looking for the “baddest b***h” in town for his One Minute Scraps.

He said, “Alright, we are going to let the girls play next, we are going to find out who’s the baddest bh in town. 50k, one minute, or just as long as it takes to finish these b**s in his backyard. So what I need from you ladies is your name, your weight, and your record, and maybe send me a little video of you doing something illegal so I know I can trust ya.”

Going by Hooker’s claim here, if he actually adds women fighters to his roster, he would tap into a new fanbase who would want to see some decent scraps. That way, the Kiwi’s platform could potentially become a starting point for local aspiring MMA fighters to prove their mettle. Since UFC’s top brass, Hunter Campbell, already has his eye on it, these fighters could definitely start their careers and go straight to Dana White’s Contender Series, which has become the best route for prospects to enter the promotion.

That said, do you think Dan Hooker’s One Minute Scrap could actually become a big promotion in the future, or is it going to be a niche form of combat sport limited to his backyard? Comment below.