A human has finally stepped into a fighting cage with a robot and judging by the viral footage, perhaps we should have left this one to science fiction.
Internet personality Frankie LaPenna took on a six-foot humanoid robot in what organisers are calling the world’s first human-versus-“Terminator” robot fight.
The unusual showdown took place at a REK event on September 18. LaPenna didn’t exactly go easy on his mechanical opponent.
Footage shows him landing several punches as the robot initially struggles to deal with the attack.
Then things changed and the machine started throwing punches and kicks of its own, with one particularly heavy kick sending LaPenna flying backwards across the cage.
Another sends him crashing into the wall.
The clips quickly went viral, with viewers inevitably drawing comparisons with The Terminator and questioning how an actual professional fighter would fare against the machine.
This wasn’t an AI robot independently deciding how to beat up a human. The humanoid was remotely controlled by a human pilot.
REK is developing a form of robot combat in which people use virtual reality technology to control humanoid machines and fight other robots.
The company has already staged robot-versus-robot events, but putting LaPenna inside the cage gave people a very different look at just how much force these machines can generate.
REK says more footage from the fight will be released soon.
2026-09-21 22:38:00
