Tai chi master ‘sabotaged fight’, MMA fighter claims after police halt Shanghai contest
‘Mad Dog’ Xu Xiaodong accuses opponent of asking his nephew to contact the authorities before the bout began in ‘shameful day’ for martial arts
One of the protagonists in a planned contest between teams of mixed martial artists and tai chi fighters, scheduled to be held in Shanghai on Monday but blocked by police, has accused his opponent of deliberately sabotaging the event, local media reported.
Beijing-based MMA fighter and promoter Xu Xiaodong alleged in a social media post that his principal adversary, tai chi master Ma Baoguo, had asked his nephew to call the police before the contest started, news website Beijing Time reported.
In statements made via his Weibo microblogging account and shared by Beijing Time, Xu said he had been “eagerly awaiting the match”, but Ma’s actions to “entrap” him meant that June 26 – the proposed date for the contest – was now a “shameful day for martial arts”, the report said.
The fighter said he discovered the identity of the whistle-blower from the police, and dared Ma to “sue him” if the accusations were unfounded.