California state athletic regulators have ordered a technology startup to stop organizing fights between humans and robots. The California State Athletic Commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to Rek, a company that describes itself as "the humanoid robot fighting league," following an unsanctioned match held last month.
The contest took place on September 18th and pitted human combatant Frankie LaPenna against a humanoid robot. The machine, which appeared to be built by EngineAI with a custom Terminator-style head, was not acting autonomously. Instead, a human operator controlled the robot from a distance using a remote virtual-reality system.
On September 30th, Rek Chief Executive Officer Cix Liv shared the official letter on social media platform X. The commission declared the match unsanctioned and required Liv and the company to immediately stop holding, promoting, or advertising any boxing or mixed martial arts contests involving human participants in California without official approval. Reacting to the regulatory notice, Liv posted, "We made it boys."
While future matches featuring human fighters remain prohibited without state authorization, Rek intends to continue its events using only machines. The startup's next scheduled match is set to feature two weapon-wielding robots battling one another.