Rob from McDojo Life, a creator who has spent more than 13 years exposing fraud and misconduct in the martial arts world, made surprising allegations about Karate Combat during an appearance on The Fight Guys podcast.
According to Rob, individuals inside the organization expressed hopes that a fighter would lose his life in the ring so the promotion could profit from the resulting viral attention. The claim came from private messages Rob says he received from people working within Karate Combat.
According to Rob, someone inside the organization suggested they were “really hoping that someone [lost their life] in the ring so that way it could go viral and they could make money off of it.”
Rob made it clear that the context or intent did not matter. “I don’t give a fk if that was a joke or not,” he said. “That’s bullst. You should never wish a fighter would [lose their life] to go viral.”
These claims emerged alongside broader concerns Rob raised about Karate Combat’s internal culture following a major leadership change.
Rob’s relationship with the promotion began during its first iteration under founding president Adam Scovack, a period he described as principled and respectful.
“Adam was amazing. He was a great dude and he really was about the karate side of things. He wanted honor, integrity, and respect to be in the fight game,” Rob said.
During that time, Rob served as the organization’s primary independent media presence, promoting events and conducting interviews in exchange for travel and accommodation rather than direct payment.
According to Rob, everything changed after Asim took over as president. “Around that time a lot of the old guard kind of got removed and a lot of his people got brought in,” he explained, describing a shift in priorities and organizational culture.
Rob says his working relationship with Karate Combat deteriorated under the new leadership. Initially, Rob had an arrangement where he would promote Karate Combat content on his social media in exchange for flight and accommodation to events. When travel to international locations like China and Dubai became impractical, Rob asked if the organization would simply provide the equivalent cost so he could continue promoting them remotely.
“They said straight up, we don’t pay influencers,” Rob recalled. “And I was like, well, you f**king lied to me because I know you do.”
More troubling, however, were the reports Rob says he began receiving from people inside the organization who claimed they were not being paid at all. “I started finding out that they were financially ripping people off,” he said, referencing Reddit posts, internal text messages, and direct complaints from staff and contractors.
Rob confronted Karate Combat’s leadership directly, giving them a deadline to resolve outstanding payments. “I was like, look, I have to do a story about this if you guys do not cover these people’s costs,” he said. He emphasized that the issue went beyond his own experience. “You were financially defrauding people. You told them you were going to pay them. You haven’t paid them.”
According to Rob, when unpaid workers raised concerns, the response from senior leadership was dismissive. “There was somebody in the organization at a very high level who was telling guys who had not been paid, ‘Hey, you could always just quit.’ That was the answer.”
Rob said this attitude exploited the loyalty of employees who believed in the promotion. “That’s taking advantage of people who do not deserve that,” he said. “A lot of these guys were breaking their back for Karate Combat… just to get bent over and f**ked by those same people.”
Rob, whose McDojo Life Instagram page once had over 700,000 followers before Meta shut it down for what he calls “bogus copyright infringement,” says the removal disrupted his ability to stay in contact with sources. He is now working to rebuild those connections to complete his investigation into Karate Combat.
Outside of McDojo Life, Rob serves as vice president of Academy Safe, an organization focused on creating voluntary safety and ethical standards for martial arts schools in an otherwise unregulated industry. He has also authored a book and is currently producing a documentary on martial arts cults and systemic fraud.
Every time I hear about KC, it’s never good.
I was never a fan.
they in some deep doggie doo
Ive heard more since that interview the other day
did you get a hold of Sam Alvey for your podcast?
they ARE
Learn engrish!!!
Never tried. But im happy to
Disgusting piece of shit that “President Awesome” is. Lock him in a cage with Khabib for 15 minutes.