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UFC star Dan Hooker played a key role in keeping a senior member of New Zealand’s infamous gangs out of legal trouble after participating in a lively fight event in Hooker’s backyard.
Hooker offered a $50,000 prize for a ‘one-minute scrap’ tournament held at his home in Auckland on May 24. The event saw 32 amateur fighters challenge each other on his lawn, with elderly neighbors peering over the fence in astonishment.
One participant, Jon Paul ‘Fightdog’ Te Rito, was caught on camera winning matches at this unsanctioned event and was brought to the attention of the police because he was reportedly required to be in a rehabilitation program at the time.
Te Rito – who was seen wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet while fighting and is a member of the Mongrel Mob gang – could have broken his bail conditions, a Department of Corrections representative said.
The fighter was referred to police over the matter, leading to Hooker stepping in.
The 35-year-old wrote a letter supporting Te Rito, claiming the event was a ‘platform for self expression, and a healthy outlet to cope with life’s pressures’.
Pictured: UFC star Dan Hooker (left, in baseball cap and singlet) watches as gang member Jon Paul ‘Fightdog’ Te Rito is awarded a win in his backyard fight fest in Auckland
Police got involved when it was alleged Te Rito – who was wearing an electronic tagging bracelet on his ankle (pictured) – had broken his bail to compete in the event
‘Physical activity is a proven tool to help men overcome mental health issues, such as depression or addiction,’ he wrote.
‘It can be more productive than an unrelatable counselling session.’
Hooker posted his letter to Instagram with the caption, ‘Today ‘Fightdog’ was released from custody.
‘The judge ruled his attendance at my event did not breach his bail and he was able to return home.’
The post came with a photo appearing to show Hooker and Te Rito’s supporters celebrating outside a courthouse.
Hooker’s event came in for harsh criticism after he released a video of all 30 of the tournament fights on YouTube.
New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association president Billy Meehan told Checkpoint the event was ‘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 said.
Hooker’s stunned elderly neighbours can be seen watching the fights over their back fence in a grab taken from a video of the bouts, which have been blasted as ‘barbaric’
Hooker (pictured at the event) called his critics ‘lefties having a sulk’
‘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.’
Hooker got his fellow Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya to help him promote the event by telling fighters and fans, ‘Bring the family, bring the whanau [Māori for extended family], come watch, you’ll get knocked out or knock someone the f*** out.’
Hooker reacted to the criticism by saying only one fighter got hurt and what happened in his backyard didn’t break any laws.
‘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 backyar and having a punch-up become illegal?’ he told popular MMA program the Ariel Helwani Show.
‘It’s being run by some of the most experienced combat sports people in the country.
‘I knew everyone would think it was crazy, I knew there would be people who would have issues with it. I wanted it at my house so I could control it.
‘There were a couple [of] bumps, a couple [of] scrapes, obviously a few of the boys were run through concussion protocol.’
Hooker added that he believes his bouts were safer than boxing because he had a three-second knockdown rule in place and fights were called off if one competitor suffered two knockdowns, leaving the pugs ‘a lot less banged up’ than if they’d fought over multiple three-minute rounds in the ring.
Critics of the backyard brawl-fest have had the opposite of their desired effect, with the lightweight UFC star saying their actions have convinced him to stage another tournament.
Te Rito (pictured) and 31 other amateur fighters punched each other to the ground as they battled to win $50,000 in prize money put up by Hooker
The Kiwi UFC star (pictured weighing in for a fight last year) has been spurred on to hold more beatdowns in his backyard
‘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.’
Cameron Harcourt, who fought in the event, gave it his full backing.
‘We’re going to fight anyway,’ he said.
‘There’s fights out in the streets … if you had beef, you apply for this and you jump in, and it gives us a place to do it in a controlled environment.
‘The thuggery is taken out and we’ve turned it into a sport.’
