At the age of 18, he was invited by Dutch kickboxing world champion Rob Kaman to move to Thailand to train with him.
[1][2] His most notable fight was against Stefan Leko at the K-1 Grand Prix '99, which he lost by knockout in the first round.
[2] In 2011, Hooft joined the mixed martial arts gym the Blackzilians in Florida, after he was brought in by Tyrone Spong, who was invited by Rashad Evans to train with him.
[4] In 2017, he founded his own gym Combat Club, later rebranded as Kill Cliff FC.
[5] Hooft trained top contenders such as Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Anthony Johnson, Michael Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Kamaru Usman, Michael Chandler, Luke Rockhold, Gilbert Burns and Shavkat Rakhmonov.