An underground fight club operating in NSW has drawn heavy criticism from authorities, but the event itself claims to be promoting men’s mental health.
The event series, known as ‘Hood Contender’, was established by western Sydney rapper Caleb Valeri and has recently racked upmillions of views across Instagram and YouTube.
The unsanctioned fights, held in undisclosed locations, see fighters compete in a makeshift ring wearing MMA gloves and a mouthguard.
Participants fight two one-minute rounds per fight in a 16-man elimination bracket, competing for $5000 in prize money, with the minimal padding in their gloves increasing the danger.
At the most recent event, fighters were picked up in a minibus and told to hand over their mobile phones, before being taken to the secret location.
Organisers point out on the event’s website that the Hood Contender is a ‘controlled sparring organisation’ and is ‘not an event for thugs’.
Underground fight club ‘Hood Contender’ has seen a rapid rise in popularity (pictured, two of the underground boxers competing)
Fighters only wear minimal padding on their hands, increasing the danger of the bouts, which are held in makeshift rings in secret locations
The unsanctioned fights see participants battle it out for $5000 in prize money (pictured, Hood Contender fighters after a bout)
Furthermore, their aim is to help men with mental health issues ‘seeking a positive outlet to release their demons with honour and respect’.
‘Our main objective is for men’s mental health,’ says Valeri.
‘We’re not providing a platform for thugs or anyone like that with a certain way of life. We want boys to come here and earn respect and honour the right way and be mates at the end.’
Australia’s greatest boxer, Jeff Fenech, has a very different view of the bouts.
‘Sure, your friends will call you tough because you do this underground streetfighting, but see if they’re there in 30 years when you need someone to wipe your a**e,’ he told News Corp.
‘It’s sad. These guys have one thing, they [have] got ego and they want to show how tough you are.
‘Show people how tough you are by taking care of your family.’
The Combat Sports Authority of NSW said that they haven’t received any application for a permit to stage the Hood Contender series.
‘On information received regarding the proposed conduct of the contest, the authority and NSW Police took the proactive step of giving a direction to the organisers prior to the event under the Combat Sports Act 2013 (NSW) to not proceed with the contest,’ a spokesperson said.
‘The authority will be taking compliance action against the organisers and all registered combatants that participated in the contest.
‘The authority will continue to remain vigilant in its efforts to regulate the NSW combat sports industry to minimise harm to combatants and ensure the integrity of combat sport contests.’
A recent video of the fights, which has been viewed five million times, shows a fighter appear to dislocate his shoulder before the referee helps him pop it back in the socket.
The event’s website states that the Hood Contender is a ‘controlled sparring organisation’ (pictured, two boxers fight at a Hood Contender event)
Event organiser Caleb Valeri (pictured) says the main objective of the operation is to help men with their mental health
‘What a soldier,’ posted one fan.
‘Hard as nails,’ replied another.
Another video shows a fighter who had been knocked down twice in a bout fight again in a later match-up, in which he was knocked out.
The Instagram page seems to be popular with Aussie athletes too, with footy players including Willie Mason and Latrell Mitchell and liking their content on Instagram, as well as surfer Koby Abberton.
There’s been a recent rise in underground fighting events, with Kiwi UFC star Dan Hooker recently putting up $50,000 prizemoney for a ‘one-minute scrap event in his Auckland backyard.
One of the fighters, Jon Paul ‘Fightdog’ Te Rito, was filmed winning fights at the unregulated event, and was referred to police because he was allegedly supposed to be attending 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 Aussie underground fight club is reminiscent of the backyard brawls organised by UFC star Dan Hooker (left, in baseball cap) at his home in New Zealand
Hooker (pictured at the event) called his critics ‘lefties having a sulk’
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’.
‘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’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.
Secrecy is a big part of Hood Contender, with participants (pictured) told to hand over their phones before they are taken to the event sites
‘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 backyard 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.’
