The Robot Fighting Championship (RFC): who is behind it, what it has staged and what is still unknown

The Robot Fighting Championship (RFC) is a Singapore-based promotion of piloted humanoid fights that held its first showcase on 9 October 2026 and says its next one runs 11 to 13 December. This profile collects what RFC and the coverage of it say, and what neither says.

WHAT RFC IS

RFC describes itself as a league in which a trained martial artist is strapped into a control rig and the robot mirrors every move in real time: "The robot is the body. The human is the fighter." Its site promises weight classes, rankings, a ruleset and a belt, and says the pilot is the star. The machine named in RFC's own material is the EngineAI T800. RFC is a pilot-controlled format, not an autonomous one.

WHO IS BEHIND IT

RFC's Luma listing for its VIP showcase says the venture was co-founded by Jaze Phua, whom it describes as founder of Dear.AI, CEO of Virality Group and co-founder of AICON, with a following of more than three million. The same listing says the team was opening fundraising, and rfc.sg says the league is raising money to fund its first season. Roboxing has not found a published list of other founders, owners or investors. The site's footer names the operating company as Robot Fighting Championship Pte. Ltd.

WHAT HAPPENED ON 9 OCTOBER

Must Share News, citing RFC's press release, reported on 6 October that RFC would be the main highlight of AICON, a Singapore consumer AI festival at *SCAPE, on 9 October from 8pm to 10pm. Two full-sized EngineAI T800 robots would fight, controlled by pilots with VR headsets and motion controllers. Four pilots were announced from martial arts, combat sports and Singapore's creator scene, including Jaze Phua, Eugene Chung and Amie, with a fourth guest kept secret until the night. Roboxing has not found an independent report of the fights themselves, so who won, how many rounds were fought and whether the plan held are not established here.

The control method matters: RFC's site speaks of a control rig, while the press release and the Luma listing speak of VR headsets and low-latency teleoperation. Roboxing does not know whether those are the same setup.

THE DECEMBER SHOWCASE

On 6 November rfc.sg lists "The Showcase", three nights from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December 2026 in Singapore, with doors at 7:00pm and the first walkout at 8:00pm. The page says bouts are piloted humanoid fights over three rounds under an RFC ruleset. The venue, card, pilots, ticket prices and broadcast partner are not published. A prize pool is "to be announced at the Showcase"; the page shows a placeholder figure, so Roboxing does not report one. Only RFC's own site gives these dates.

HOW TEAMS CAN JOIN

RFC sells entry to the league. Its site offers a "Robot Only" package (one T800, delivery, twelve months of maintenance and development support) and a "Team Forming" package that adds pilot training, developer and engineer support. Prices are now shown as "pricing on request". RFC states that the support is not a warranty and does not cover damage. Entries are due to open at the December showcase.

THE PLAN AND ITS LIMITS

The "Road to 2028" timeline lists a first numbered card, RFC 01, with no date, a ranked season across several cities in 2027 with a broadcast partner still to be signed, and a target of 100 league teams in 2028. These are targets set by the promoter. The site also shows league-size and audience figures that Roboxing cannot check and does not repeat.

WHERE IT FITS

RFC sits with ARC in the group of pilot-controlled leagues that use full-size humanoids, and it shares a machine with URKL, which is also organised by EngineAI. Unlike REK or UFB it has no regular schedule yet. The date to watch is 11 December.