Several UFC fighters have been pictured with Andrew Tate, the disgraced influencer banned from social media platforms for his misogynistic and other problematic views.
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, UFC bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling, and rising star Sean O’Malley were among the fighters who met with Tate and his brother, Tristan, in the United Arab Emirates. The aforementioned fighters are currently staying in the Emirates to prepare for their upcoming match-ups at UFC 280 next week.
Edwards was pictured with Tate at a restaurant in Dubai while Sterling posted several pictures of himself hanging out with Tate at a party in Dubai on Saturday. “Top G’s never die. Good chopping it up with you fellas,” Sterling tweeted before referring to criticism of Tate as “fake” in several follow-up tweets.
We can go back n forth with “full” length videos to discredit this, although I agree some things tow the line until you listen in its entirety to hear the full statement. But I really don’t care that much haha.
If you want him as the bad guy, the content is there and vice versa https://t.co/jfRNfEpwuJ
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 16, 2022
On Sunday, O’Malley posted an Instagram story of himself and Tate with a Lamborghini in the backdrop. The post was captioned, “Top Fucking Gs.”
Tate was accompanied by his brother Tristan, as well as Tam Khan, the owner of the Dubai-based TK MMA gym and self-proclaimed “pioneer of MMA in the UAE.” Khan has previously met with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and invited Irish crime lord Daniel Kinahan to visit his gym in Dubai earlier this year. Both Kinahan and Kadyrov are under US sanctions.
As for Tate, the British-American former kickboxer rose to fame by styling himself as a self-help guru who offered tips and advice for young men looking to attract women and improve their lives. However, he has also been accused of “extreme misogyny” by domestic abuse charities, and is considered dangerous due to his ability to radicalize young men and boys.
An investigation by The Observer showed that some of the widely shared content from Tate include videos of him saying rape victims are to blame for their own assaults and that women are the property of men. He also called an ex-girlfriend who accused him of abuse a “dumb hoe.”
In April 2022, Tate’s mansion was raided by Romanian authorities after the U.S. embassy alerted them that an American woman might be held at the property against her will. The investigation was later expanded to include human trafficking and rape allegations. While the investigation is ongoing, no person has been charged with a crime.
Tate was permanently banned from major social media platforms in August 2022. TikTok claimed his account violated their policies on “content that attacks, threatens, incites violence against, or otherwise dehumanizes an individual or a group” while YouTube cited violations such as hate speech.