HOOKnSHOOT
TypePrivate
IndustryMixed martial arts promotion
Founded1995
FoundersJeff Osborne[1]
DefunctMarch 3, 2017
Headquarters
Evansville, Indiana
,
United States

HOOKnSHOOT was a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Evansville, Indiana, United States.[2] It was one of the earliest MMA promotions in the United States, and one of the first organisations in the United States to allow Women's MMA.[3][4][5][6]

History

HOOKnSHOOT was founded in 1995 by professional wrestling promoter Jeff Osborne. After watching the tapes of the early Ultimate Fighting Championships, he became interest in the nascent sport and sought to create his own event, forming HOOKnSHOOT at a gym in the small town of Boonville, Indiana.[2] The name was chosen derived from Japanese shoot wrestling and the wrestling term "Shoot", to give emphasis to the "realness" of the event. Early events used different rules: shootfighting (similar to Pancrase) and "NHB" ("No Holds Barred", similar to the UFC), HOOKnSHOOT also became promoter of Shooto events in North America for a time, even adopting its rules.[6]

HOOKnSHOOT saw the introduction and beginning of many future MMA stars, such as UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne, UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Ian Freeman, Ivan Salaverry, Hermes Franca, Chris Lytle, Travis Lutter, Gesias Cavalcante and Jeremy Horn.[7]

In 2002, HOOKnSHOOT put on an all women's card labeled ‘Revolution’. It was headlined by Debi Purcell and Christine Van Fleet. In 2005, they held an all-women, one-night-only tournament featuring Julie Kedzie, Jan Finney, and Lisa Ellis.[8] According to Osborne, he was inspired to promote women's matches after seeing her daughter and wife watch with interest tapes of Megumi Yabushita and other female fighters at the ReMix tournament in Japan.[2] HOOKnSHOOT is considered the pioneer in Women's MMA,[8] and Jeff Osborne has been referred as "The Godfather of North American WMMA".[6]

In 2017, Jeff Osborne announced the close of HOOKnSHOOT, citing the lack of interest for local shows and financial incentives, as well his own age.[7] HOOKnSHOOT did its last event March 4, 2017, titled HOOKnSHOOT - The Farewell Show.[9] Thus ending the run of the second longest-running MMA promotion in North America.[7]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Breaking Barriers". Sherdog. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  2. 1 2 3 "From parking lots to the record books: Celebrating 20 years of HOOKnSHOOT". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  3. ↑ "HOOKnSHOOT full catalogue to be added to UFC Fight Pass". SI. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  4. ↑ "History Lessons: HOOKnSHOOT and the Early Miesha Tate and Kaitlin Young". MMA Corner. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
  5. ↑ Jennings, L. A. (23 October 2014). She's a Knockout!. ISBN 9781442236448. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "One of the longest-running MMA promotions is almost finished, but will its history die with it?". 21 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Al-Shatti, Shaun (24 February 2017). "HOOKnSHOOT may be coming to an end, but its influence is everywhere". Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. 1 2 "The Male Gaze in Women's MMA - Part 1: Genesis, Gina, and getting past Dana". Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "HOOKnSHOOT - HnS | MMA Promoter". Tapology. Retrieved 2022-07-13.


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