Frankie LaPenna went 2-1 against three robots before exhaustion — full breakdown published

REK's September 18 human-versus-robot fights in San Francisco have now been published in full. Boxer Frankie LaPenna faced three robots operated remotely via VR headset: a Unitree G1, an EngineAI T800, and an H2.

In the first bout, Lapeña fought a G1 priced at $13,500 (132 cm tall, 35 kg). After taking sustained punches for over a minute, the robot was knocked down by a flying kick. The second fight pitted him against a modified T800 priced at $100,000 with a kick force of 385 kilograms. The T800 knocked him back with a kick, but he shifted tactics to target the trunk with repeated shoves and brought it down after about two minutes.

The third opponent was a modified H2 priced at $29,900. Despite an unsteady gait, it responded with continuous punches and spinning hook punches. After three consecutive bouts, LaPenna was exhausted and fell. He noted afterward that robots do not tire and can keep getting up. His final record was two wins and one loss. The video has accumulated 660,000 views on video platforms.

California's athletic commission ordered REK to stop human-versus-robot fights, calling them an unapproved contest involving a human. REK responded that only human-versus-human matches require approval under current law. The promotion has since announced it will shift to robot-versus-robot fights with bladed weapons instead.