HOOKnSHOOT was founded in 1995 byprofessional wrestlingpromoter Jeff Osborne. After watching the tapes of the earlyUltimate 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 ofBoonville, Indiana.[2]The name was chosen derived from Japaneseshoot wrestlingand the wrestling term "Shoot",to give emphasis to the" realness "of the event. Early events used different rules:shootfighting(similar toPancrase) and "NHB" ( "No Holds Barred",similar to theUFC), HOOKnSHOOT also became promoter ofShootoevents in North America for a time, even adopting its rules.[6]
In 2002, HOOKnSHOOT put on an all women's card labeled ‘Revolution’. It was headlined byDebi Purcelland Christine Van Fleet. In 2005, they held an all-women, one-night-only tournament featuringJulie Kedzie,Jan Finney,andLisa Ellis.[8]According to Osborne, he was inspired to promote women's matches after seeing her daughter and wife watch with interest tapes ofMegumi Yabushitaand other female fighters at the ReMix tournament in Japan.[2]HOOKnSHOOT is considered the pioneer inWomen'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, titledHOOKnSHOOT - The Farewell Show.[9]Thus ending the run of the second longest-running MMA promotion in North America.[7]
