The prospect of stepping inside an MMA cage is an intimidating enough experience for most people. However, imagine the b*lls of steel it must take to step inside the cage with a robot.
But that’s exactly what American influencer Frankie Lapenna did during what has been billed as the world’s first human-versus-robot fight.
Wearing chest protection and an NFL-style helmet, Lapenna entered the cage opposite an imposing android created by robotics company Rek, the Daily Star reports.
And despite the protective equipment, he didn’t escape without taking some punishment.
Teaser footage from the showdown showed the robot landing several heavy blows before a powerful kick to the body sent Lapenna crashing to the mat.
However, the influencer managed to get back to his feet and, according to Rek, ultimately defeated his mechanical opponent.
The unusual fight took place in San Francisco and quickly attracted attention after footage was shared across social media. Unsurprisingly, viewers had plenty to say about a man voluntarily stepping into a cage with a machine capable of knocking him off his feet.
One immediately drew comparisons with the Rocky films, writing: “Straight up Ivan Drago [from The Rocky films] coming to mind.”
Another admitted the spectacle occupied a strange middle ground between frightening and hilarious, writing: “It would be terrifying if it wasn’t so funny.”
Others were less amused by the potential consequences of allowing the robot to strike a human.
One concerned viewer said: “If the robot used the spinning kick on a person it could knock somebody’s head off. Don’t know who approved this stupid and dangerous match in the first place.”
Another questioned Lapenna’s tactics against an opponent that couldn’t exactly be approached like another fighter. “See the problem here is that the dude went at it like if he was fighting another person. He’s not fighting another person, he’s fighting a robot. Punching a robot to score points isn’t going to do s***,” they typed.
Someone else had an entirely different game plan in mind.
“What a dumb way to fight a machine,” they wrote. “Run circles around it until it trips or just wait out its battery endurance. Put me in a cage with that robot and it’s coming out junk.”
Those who witnessed the spectacle in person appeared considerably more impressed.
One attendee described the event as something straight out of science fiction.
“Just had one of the most surreal nights of my life,” they said, via the Daily Star. “A window into the future with echoes from science fiction’s past, merged into an immense present, where, through my lens, I watched a man fight for his f****** life against a nearly unkillable machine.”
The footage also prompted questions over exactly how the robot was operating.
When social media users asked whether the fight itself was genuine, Rek responded affirmatively.
However, there was one important distinction: the robot wasn’t independently deciding how to attack Lapenna using artificial intelligence. Rek confirmed that the machine was being remotely controlled by a human.
So while Lapenna can claim victory in the unusual showdown, he wasn’t quite outsmarting an autonomous Terminator inside the cage.
Rek nevertheless presented the event as a significant moment for robotics, describing it as a “turning point in history, a striking moment to behold. Thank you everyone for coming!”
Full footage of the bionic brawl is expected to be released soon.
Featured image credit: Instagram/Frankie Lapenna/X/Rek (screenshots)
