At a press conference in Dubai, ahead of their Karate Combat 45 bout, Pakistan captain Shahzaib Rindh struck India’s captain Rana Singh.
The incident, captured on video, quickly spread across social media platforms. During the event, Rindh asked Singh, “How was the slap, bro?” after hitting him.
In February, Rindh achieved a record by securing the fastest knockout in Karate Combat history at event 44 in Mexico City. The 25-year-old defeated Peru’s Marco Cubas in just 21 seconds.
The upcoming event in Dubai features prominent hosts, including former MMA fighters Bas Rutten and George St Pierre, YouTuber Mike Majlak, and Bollywood star Salman Khan.
The evening will start with a Pit Submission series, including a bout between Craig Jones and Andre Muniz.
Read: Shahzaib Rindh Leads Pakistan to Victory in Dramatic Karate Combat 45 Finale
The co-main event features a Bantamweight title fight between Luiz Rocha and Myrza-Bek Tebuev, followed by the main event with Luke Rockhold versus Joe Schilling.
Additional bouts include a variety of international matches, such as Eddie Farrell versus Raymond Daniels and Vitalii Dubina against Edgar Skrivers.
The India versus Pakistan match-up will see Rana Singh face Shahzaib Rindh, alongside other matches featuring fighters from both nations.
The preliminary card includes Adam Noi versus Ali Motamed and Huang Shuai Lu against Ali Zainfar, among others.
The Pit Submission Series grappling segment will showcase Craig Jones versus Rinat Fakhretdinov and other matches.
