California regulator orders REK to stop human-versus-robot fights

Robot Entertainment Kombat (REK), a San Francisco company founded in 2025 that presents itself as a league for humanoid robot fights, has received a cease-and-desist letter from the California State Athletic Commission. The state body oversees professional and amateur boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts.

The letter followed a show on 18 September 2026 in which a social media influencer, wearing a helmet and protective gear, fought three bouts against human-piloted humanoid robots in front of roughly 100 people. One of the robots stood about six feet tall on a steel frame and was steered by an operator through a virtual reality system. REK chief executive Cix Liv made the letter public on X on 30 September. According to SFist, a video of the fight had passed 8.2 million views on YouTube by 7 October.

According to The New York Times, the commission says any boxing or MMA contest involving a human in California needs its prior approval, and that promoting or taking part in an unlicensed one is a misdemeanour. The letter tells REK to stop staging or advertising such contests with humans without that approval. The commission said it could look at updating its rules as the robots improve.

Liv disputes the commission's reading, arguing that the law describes a match as a contest between two persons. He also told The New York Times that REK has no plans to repeat a human-versus-robot fight. A combat sports lawyer interviewed by the paper said many athletic commissions may lack the power to stop such events without changing their laws.

The order concerns contests involving humans only. REK has continued to stage fights in which robots face each other.