Andrew Tate showed off his kickboxing skills ahead of a touted fighting comeback last night, outlasting 50 opponents in one brutal sparring session.
Joined by his brother Tristan Tate and former UFC middleweight contender and The Ultimate Fighter star Luke Barnatt, Andrew Tate took to the cage in Dubai on Saturday. The brothers are close friends with entrepreneur Tam Khan, who invited all comers to get involved in an intense session at his TKMMA Gym.
The facility is frequented by UFC stars and boxers, including the likes of Khamzat Chimaev who regularly trains there and former welterweight champion Leon Edwards. But last night, it was home to the Tate brothers as they returned to Dubai.
- BROTHERS BATTLE: ‘Island Boys’ brothers to fight each other after Dana White won $10,000 betting on Adin Ross-backed debut
Andrew Tate takes on 50 opponents in brutal three-hour sparring session
Last night, footage began to emerge on social media of a training event featuring controversial influencer Andrew Tate sparring with a large group of opponents at TKMMA in Dubai. The American-born Brit is an ex-kickboxing champion at the ISKA and Enfusion level, which he claims makes him a ‘world champion’.
And he showed off his skills against opponents of varying skill levels, seemingly from unathletic beginners through to more game rivals. He could be seen dropping and forcing stoppages from at least two of the men involved, as well as bloodying the nose of one in what is said to be the final round.
Former UFC star Luke Barnatt, who Tate beat in his amateur MMA days, was seemingly involved in the entire situation although it is unclear if he and his pal shared any rounds together. He posted a video to his Instagram declaring that the team were going to be ‘punishing themselves’ in the session.
“Big group of here at TKMMA as you can see,” he told fans on social media in an Instagram story. “And we’re going to suffer. We’re going to do four hours work in the sunshine? I’m going to beat the f— out of this guy [Tate].”
When he joked that they were ‘going to kill people’ in the session, Tate replied in a similar sarcastic tone that they would ‘not kill, just maim’.
Andrew Tate is eyeing a return to the ring years after kickboxing retirement
Since reaching international infamy in 2022, Tate has been touted to make a return to the ring for one more fight. Aside from his well-documented legal issues outside of the fight game, he also has suffered severe eye issues which cost him his final major kickboxing fight against Ibrahim El Boustati in 2016.
He has since returned for various smaller exhibition-type bouts, but hasn’t fought a reputable opponent since suffering that injury. The likes of Jake Paul and his brother Logan Paul have both eyed up a clash with the former kickboxing star, as has KSI, although nothing has been booked to date.
Last year, Tate sponsored Tam Khan’s ‘Social Knockout’ event in Dubai, and it was announced on the broadcast that once his travel ban was lifted that he would be returning on their next show. However, nothing has come of that just yet.
In a video message, Tate teased a potential ring return. He noted that he still has “a few moves” as he apologized to the crowd for not being there in person, and even showed off examples of his movement while giving his speech
“My name is Andrew Tate, the Top G and you’ve probably realized by now that the show is sponsored by Cobratate.com,” he said, before plugging his website which features a self-help and money making course.
“Unfortunately I cannot be at the event in person, I am still being constrained by the system but I am watching remotely from here in Bucharest, Romania and the show looks fantastic.
“I want to give a huge congratulations to Tam Khan [promoter] and I want to wish a lot of luck to all of the fighters who are fighting tonight, give it your all. I’m thinking of course you’re going to see me at a future Social Knockout event.
“But do you want to see me in the crowd or do you want to see me in the ring to see what moves I have left? I’m not too old yet, they haven’t damaged me that much yet, I’ve got a few moves left so stay tuned. Once again, congratulations to everybody and I can’t wait to be there in person.”
The caption when that video was posted to social media by TK Fight Night read: “Social Knockout 4 will be the return of the Top G himself…. You think this event went viral? Just wait for the next!”