Exclusive: "Styles make fights" - Former sponsor claims prime Andrew Tate could have posed a threat to the likes of Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira
Andrew Tate has gained notoriety and cultivated a cult-like following as a sigma male archetype and a standard-bearer of toxic masculinity. Before establishing a thriving career as an entrepreneur and controversial internet personality, Tate was an active professional kickboxer in the European circuit.
Tate embarked on his professional kickboxing journey in 2007. His kickboxing record stands at 76 victories and 9 defeats. He achieved 23 of those triumphs via KO or TKO. Over the course of his career, Tate competed in both the cruiserweight category (181 lbs. to 191 lbs.) and the light heavyweight division (205 lbs.), securing four illustrious kickboxing world titles along the way.
Alex Pereira and the current UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, stand out as two of the most notable figures to successfully transition from kickboxing to MMA. While Tate briefly ventured into MMA and achieved a record of 2-1, fight fans have contemplated how the controversial influencer might have performed against formidable opponents such as Pereira and Adesanya.
Andrew Tate's former sponsor and the founder of Sidekick Boxing, Daniel Knight, shed light on how the retired kikckboxer would have fared in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA. Knight stated:
"I think he would hold his own against anyone in his weight division. As a [heavier] cruiserweight, I think Andrew Tate would do well against anyone. Styles make fights, and Tate's style was very awkward. There's a lot of Thai boxers, they claim to be the better style of kickboxing. But when they went up against an Andrew Tate, they were in the deep end with him."
Catch Daniel Knight's comments below (4:50):
Daniel Knight sheds light on allegations of misogynistic behavior promoted by Andrew Tate
There have been allegations against Andrew Tate for seemingly perpetuating toxic masculinity through his rhetoric and actions. The allegations are based on claims that he champions a regressive narrative that promotes make dominance, emotional suppression, and aggression as emblematic traits of masculinity.
Many have claimed that Tate's discourse disregards the diverse spectrum of masculine identities and hinders progress towards gender equality. Meanwhile, liberals claims that by advocating for a stark binary view of gender roles, he disregards the nuanced spectrum of identities.
Speaking about the allegations of misogynistic behavior promoted by Tate in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Daniel Knight stated (comments at (8:25) in the aforementioned interview):
"I would say Tate would just be controversial towards anyone. It wouldn't be targeted towards women. It would be men [too] you know. It's just anyone... I think with the misogyny, people are onto it now that you can't say that. But, he loves women and women love him."