What martial arts does Andrew Tate know?

Before shooting to internet fame in the 2020s, Andrew Tate had a career as a martial artist. So, even if you don’t agree with his personal views, the reality is that he was once a professional fighter during his 20s and lived a true martial artist’s lifestyle.

These days, Tate is known as a kind of guru who mostly resides on TikTok. Here, he gives out business and relationship advice, among other things. However, before this he was a skilled kickboxer who had over 80 professional bouts. In this article, we shall delve deeper into his martial arts past. Please note, in this article we’re not interested in his personality or lifestyle, and instead we’re solely focusing on his martial arts skills.

Andrew Tate as a kickboxer

Standing at 6’4, it’s not too surprising that Tate became a kickboxer. Generally speaking, his frame is quite lanky which means his body was designed to kickbox. Starting in his childhood years, he also trained with his brother Tristan who was also a solid kickboxer. Tate would eventually retire with a respectable record of 76-9. Obviously, this is not to be laughed at and proves that he was legit at his craft.

It’s important to note that during this time, Tate was not a celebrity either, so it’s not like his record was padded or that he was fighting people beneath him. Unlike boxers or MMA fighters, it’s not too uncommon for kickboxers or Muay Thai fighters to rack up hundreds of fights and they’ll even do several in one night if they feature in a grand prix event.

During his time as a kickboxer, Tate won a few international titles, including one being the ISKA Light Cruiserweight Champion. For those wondering, this was under full-contact rules, again proving that Tate was legitimate as a fighter.

Years later in 2020, Tate returned to kickboxing to have a few fights and in one interview he even said that he didn’t block punches as a fighter. This is an example of his outlandish personality, as even when it comes to fighting he goes against the status quo.

Andrew Tate’s MMA record

Like many fighters, Andrew ‘Cobra’ Tate would eventually try his hand in MMA. It’s fair to say that this venture didn’t go as well as his kickboxing career. Like many of his kickboxing fights, Tate’s MMA career took place in the earlier 2000s when MMA was still developing as a sport.

Here, he went 3-2 as an amateur which shows that his transition into MMA wasn’t as easy compared to his kickboxing career. You can still find his MMA fights on Youtube and it’s clear that he was mostly relying on kickboxing compared to other aspects such as grappling. Interestingly, when it comes to grappling – Tate isn’t a massive fan and has spoken out on how wrestling and BJJ are good for MMA but aren’t as effective in street fights due to multiple attackers.

Remember, this was literally decades ago and in the lower MMA promotions, this was pretty normal at the time. Having said this, he did win his first fight in 2006 by using a guillotine choke. Here, he strangled his opponent Lee Mayo proving that Tate was more than just a striker. Years later, Tate would go on to have just one professional MMA fight which he won.

In short, his MMA career proves that he was more versatile than you may think. The guillotine shows that he knows a few submissions and isn’t completely dependent on striking. Obviously though, it’s much harder to excel in MMA due to the number of different fighting styles you need to learn.

How much did Andrew Tate earn from kickboxing?

As Andrew Tate was predominantly a kickboxer, it’s only natural that people would wonder about his career earnings. One of the questions surrounding his lifestyle is how he became so rich, so naturally people put two and two together and believe he made his fortune as a kickboxer. This assumption would be incorrect.

According to the man himself, “Kickboxing did not make me rich even though I am a four time world champion. The most money I got paid for a fight ever was one hundred thousand dollars.” This is interesting and highlights that there’s not great money in kickboxing. For instance, Israel Adesanya was a brilliant kickboxer but would eventually move to MMA where the money was significantly better.

In most cases, fighters may even get a few hundred dollars per bout or thousands if they’re decent. Generally, to be paid one hundred thousand dollars for a kickboxing fight is very rare but it is possible if Tate fought in a generous promotion at the peak of his career. Even if this figure is true, it’s very far from millions and proves that being a martial artist doesn’t pay particularly well.

So, although Tate is now a millionaire, it’s fair to assume that most of his wealth didn’t come from fighting. If he was very smart then he may have been able to invest some of his fight money into businesses at the start but overall kickboxing doesn’t pay brilliantly. We should also point out that Tate was never the best in his field either so it’s not like he’d have been paid more than other kickboxers.

Does Andrew Tate still fight?

Andrew Tate hasn’t fought since 2020 and before that, he’d all but retired for several years anyway. Basically, after modeling himself as a lifestyle guru he has become quite famous, especially compared to his kickboxing days. In other words, it doesn’t make financial sense for Tate to continue fighting. The only reason would be is if he truly wanted to and it seems as if that itch was scratched back in 2020.

Interestingly, Tate did call out Jake Paul for a boxing match back in 2020. According to Tate, he would have stepped in the ring against Paul for $3 million dollars. This never materialized and honestly, at the time the fight wouldn’t make sense for Paul whose fame far surpassed Tate’s. Having said that, if Tate’s influence continues to grow then never say never.

These days, Andrew Tate claims to earn money by owning Romanian casinos and he lives in the Eastern European country. As a result, some websites have claimed that his net worth is in the hundreds of millions. Whilst this is unproven, it’s fair to assume that he is a comfortable millionaire due to his business ventures.

Combined with this, Tate is now in his mid 30s, so it’s fair to say that his fighting days are probably behind him and that he has few reasons to fight anymore. Regardless of where he is now or what his opinions are, it’s fair to say that Andrew Tate was a skilled fighter and martial artist. Although he wasn’t close to being the best in the world, he was still a well versed martial artist too.

If you want to kick like Cobra Tate then check out this Kickboxing 101 book.