Brad Stanton 'loses respect' for Mohamed El Boukhari after biting incident at Muaythai Fight Night Abu Dhabi

Brad Stanton receives his award from Tareq Al Muhairi after his disqualification win at Muaythai Fight Night Abu Dhabi. Courtesy UAE Muaythai and Kickboxing Federation

Brad Stanton accused Mohamed El Boukhari of making a mockery of Muay Thai after their bout at Muaythai Fight Night Abu Dhabi ended in disqualification when the Moroccan bit the Englishman.

With 20 seconds left of the headline fight at Al Forsan International Sports Resort, El Boukhari dug his teeth on the Stanton’s right shoulder. El Boukhari was subsequently disqualified from the super welterweight bout on Friday night, handing Stanton the win after an otherwise engrossing contest that looked to be going down to the wire.

Although victorious, Stanton was enraged by El Boukhari 's actions. “In this sport you have respect for each other,” he said.

“When the bell goes, you fight, yeah. Me, I start straightaway. I was tactful and couldn’t care about my opponent, but when you do silly stuff like this, you mock the sport.

“This is not good. He’s a good fighter and he has power in his shots, but at the end of the day, I have no respect for him.”

Stanton, 27, had a close first round but bounced back in the second. He dropped El Boukhari to the canvas with a high kick and then a left jab for two standing counts.

El Boukhari went on the offensive in the third round, and might have held a slight advantage when the referee stopped the contest following the bite.

Stanton scored some good points and was rock solid in his guard, yet he acknowledged he was not at his best in the contest.

“I go back to my gym,” he said. “I go back to my garage and work. I wasn’t happy with my performance.”

Muaythai Fight Night Abu Dhabi was held behind closed doors and was the first event organised by the UAE Muaythai and Kickboxing Federation since the Covid-19 lockdown.

In the main supporting fight, Nouredine Samir stunned Brazilian Marlon Ribeiro with a unanimous point decision in the welterweight.

Samir, a silver medallist for the UAE at the IFMA Asian Muay Thai Championship in Abu Dhabi last December, scored consistently from range and with high kicks and punches in another absorbing contest.

“It was a successful trial and a great start to resume our activities and the planning ahead,” said Tareq Al Muhairi, executive director and a board member of the federation.

“Our technical staff have done a brilliant job to arrange a competitive and evenly-matched fight card from the fighters who registered for this event in short notice.

“The Muay Thai and kickboxing fans were treated to exciting fare on our live digital platform.”