California is trying to shut down robot vs. human cage matches

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Frankie LaPenna Vlogs / Rek" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-08-at-4.18.11-PM.png?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to a startup that hosted a match between a human and a robot last month, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/technology/human-robot-cage-fights-california-rek.html">as reported by <em>The New York Times</em></a>.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The fight, which took place on September 18th, pitted a human, Frankie LaPenna, against a humanoid robot owned by a tech startup, Rek, that was being piloted by a human using what the <em>NYT</em> described as a "remote virtual-reality system." Rek says it is the "the humanoid robot fighting league" on <a href="https://rek.com/fights">its website</a>, and the robot appears to be one from <a href="https://en.engineai.com.cn/">EngineAI</a> but with a <em>Terminator</em>-like head swapped on top. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">You can watch a replay of the fight <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rg2sB6ELtk">on YouTube</a>:</p> <div class="youtube-embed"><iframe title="First Human VS. Robot Fight in History (FULL LENGTH)" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4rg2sB6ELtk?rel=0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The CEO of Rek …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1008401/california-shut-down-rek-fighting-robot-company-human">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>