HOOKnSHOOT was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA) promotion based in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, United States. 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.

History

HOOKnSHOOT was founded in 1995 by

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

promoter Jeff Osborne. After watching the tapes of the early

Ultimate Fighting Championships The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, he became interest in the nascent sport and sought to create his own event, forming HOOKnSHOOT at a gym the small town of

Boonville, Indiana Boonville is a city in Boon Township, Warrick County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,246 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Warrick County. History Boonville was founded in 1818 and named for Jesse Boon, father o ...

. The name was choosen derived from Japanese

shoot wrestling Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

and the wrestling term "

Shoot In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...

", to give emphasis to the "realness" of the event. Early events used different rules,

shootfighting Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestlin ...

(similar to

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

) and "NHB" ("No Holds Barred", similar to the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

), HOOKnSHOOT also became promoter of

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

events in North America for a time, even adopting its rules. HOOKnSHOOT saw the introduction and beginning of many future MMA stars, such as UFC Middleweight Champion

Dave Menne David Jeremy Menne (born July 29, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the first ever UFC Middleweight Champion and has also competed for Cage Rage, Bellator, Shooto, ADCC and RINGS. Background Menne was born in Minneapolis, M ...

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Frank Mir Francisco Santos Mir III (; born May 24, 1979), is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the Heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for sixteen years. A f ...

and

Antônio Rogério Nogueira Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro" ...

Ian Freeman Ian William Freeman (born 11 October 1966) is a retired English mixed martial artist who was the Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion and the final Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the first British person to fight in ...

Ivan Salaverry Ivan E. Salaverry (born January 11, 1971) is a Canadian mixed martial arts fighter and instructor. He is a member of Tito Ortiz's Team Punishment, and is known for his well-rounded skills. Salaverry is a middleweight veteran of the Ultimate Figh ...

Hermes Franca Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orators ...

Chris Lytle Chris Scott Lytle (born August 18, 1974) is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer. An MMA professional from 1999 until 2011 and 20-fight veteran of the UFC, Lytle also fought in Pancrase, Cage Rage, and the WEC. He held the inaug ...

Travis Lutter Travis Lutter (born May 12, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist who won ''The Ultimate Fighter 4'' reality show. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Machado. Background Lutter was born and raised in Gann Valley, ...

Gesias Cavalcante Gesias Cavalcante (born July 6, 1983) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. He was the 2006 and 2007 K-1 HERO Middleweight Champion, and has also fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, Shooto, W ...

and

Jeremy Horn Jeremy Graham Horn (born August 25, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist. Horn is best known for fighting in smaller American promotions, he has also competed in some of the premiere mixed martial arts organizations around the world, inclu ...

. In 2002 HOOKnSHOOT put on an all women’s card labeled ‘Revolution’. It was headlined by

Debi Purcell Deborah Ann Purcell is a retired American female mixed martial artist. She was formerly an assistant coach to the Southern California Condors of the International Fight League. Early life Purcell was involved in cheerleading, dance and competiti ...

and Christine Van Fleet. In 2005 they held an all-women, one-night-only tournament featuring

Julie Kedzie Julie Kedzie (born March 18, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist. She is a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and specializes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kedzie was Greg Jackson's personal assistant at Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts. K ...

Jan Finney Jan Finney (born April 18, 1980) is an American female mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the 135-pound bantamweight division. Early life Finney played softball at Kenton Ridge High School and Urbana University. Mixed martial arts ...

, and Lisa Ellis. According to Osborne, he was inspired to promote women's matches after seeing her daughter and wife watch with interest tapes of

Megumi Yabushita is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka. She has participated in several Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions. She is a Japanese national judo champion and a form ...

and other female fighters at the ReMix tournament. HOOKnSHOOT is considered the pioneer in Women's MMA, and Jeff Osborne has been referred as "The Godfather of North American WMMA". On 2017, Jeff Osborne announced the close of HOOKnSHOOT, citing the lack of interest for local shows and financial incentives, as well his own age. HOOKnSHOOT did its last event March 4, 2017, titled ''HOOKnSHOOT - The Farewell Show''. Thus ending the run of the second longest-running MMA promotion in North America.

Notable alumni

* Lisa Ellis (

) *

(

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

) *

Megumi Fujii Megumi Fujii (藤井恵 ''Fujii Megumi'', born April 26, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist. Biography Fujii started Judo at the age of 3 due to her father's influence and continued Judo at Shukugawa Gakuin Junior High School an ...

(

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

) *

(UFC) *

Tara LaRosa Tara may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tara'' (1992 film), an Indian film directed by Bijaya Jena * ''Tara'' (2001 film), an American film, also known as ''Hood Rat'', directed by Leslie Small * ''Tara'' (2010 film), a ...

( Invicta) *

Angela Magaña Angela Magaña (born August 2, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is also known for competing on The Ultimate Fighter 20 for Team Melende ...

(UFC) * Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (Invicta) *

Miesha Tate Miesha Theresa Tate ( ; born August 18, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champions ...

(UFC) *

Kaitlin Young Kaitlin Young (born September 15, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Young has also competed for EliteXC, Invicta Fighting Championships, a ...

(Invicta) *

Yves Edwards Yves Ed'duvill Edwards (born September 30, 1976) is a Bahamian retired mixed martial artist, who is best known for competing in the UFC's Lightweight division, fighting 21 times in the promotion. A professional competitor since 1997, he also compe ...

(UFC)

References

1995 establishments in Indiana Mixed martial arts organizations Organizations established in 1995 2017 disestablishments in Indiana Organizations disestablished in 2017 Defunct companies based in Indiana Companies based in Evansville, Indiana {{mixedmartialart-stub