Jakarta, ThedailyID — China has staged what organizers describe as the world’s first humanoid robot fighting championship, where human-sized robots battled inside an MMA-style cage in a competition resembling the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The opening event of the Ultimate Robot Knock-out Legend (URKL) tournament took place in Shenzhen, featuring two identical T800 humanoid robots exchanging punches inside a hexagonal arena at the Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center.
The event attracted martial arts actor Donnie Yen, who praised the robots’ performance after watching the matches in person.
“I had only seen robot fights in science fiction films before,” Yen said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.
“Today, seeing real robots fight and compete up close, witnessing this historic breakthrough firsthand, feels completely different.”
Each robot stands 1.73 metres tall and weighs 75 kilograms. The opening match featured robots representing Bullfighter and White Eagle.
During the fight, White Eagle landed a spinning tornado kick that knocked off Bullfighter’s head module. Despite losing its head-mounted sensors, Bullfighter continued operating through its core body system and control algorithms before rallying to secure a 3-2 victory.
The tournament includes 32 teams from more than 10 countries and regions, selected from over 200 applicants. Participants include leading universities and research institutions such as Tsinghua University, Stanford University, The University of Hong Kong, and Zhejiang University.
URKL’s inaugural season features open qualifiers, double round-robin matches, and a double-elimination format. The competition will continue through the end of the year, with the championship finals scheduled for Dubai in late December 2026 or early January 2027.
The winning team will receive a 10-kilogram pure gold championship belt valued at 10 million yuan, equivalent to approximately Rp26.5 billion.
