Dan Hooker’s 1-Minute Scraps tournament returned over the weekend, and this time it was ‘Dads Only’ so a lucky father could bank $50,000 leading into Christmas.
The controversial tournament has been attacked by New Zealand fun police (and real police) as nothing more than a gathering for organized crime figures. For Hooker, it’s just another weekend at the gym … one that just happens to feature 32 men scrapping for a minute at a time.
The whole thing is allowed due to a loophole in the way combat sports is regulated in New Zealand: the Boxing and Wrestling Act of 1981 is very specific about what boxing and wrestling is, and and Hooker’s events don’t qualify and are therefore … legal-ish?
An earlier 1-Minute Scraps tournament was held in Hooker’s backyard, and the UFC lightweight has said he plans of holding another there in time. For now, it returned to a corner of the gym with TheMacLife on hand to capture the whole event, which took just 70 minutes to crown a “Daddest Man on the Planet” winner.
Hooker is set to return to action at UFC 325 in Sydney, Australia against France’s Benoit Saint Denis. That’s on February 1st which is quite the quick turnaround for the Kiwi fighter, who just got trounced by Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Qatar in November.
“The Hangman” clearly likes to keep busy, and may even throw another 1-Minute Scraps event into the mix before Sydney — the next one for $100,000 in prize money.