In brief
- China’s CMG World Robot Competition hosted its first humanoid robot martial arts match, with four Unitree-built bots controlled by human operators.
- Unitree’s G1 humanoids showcased advanced combat capabilities, including kicks, knockdowns, and rapid recovery.
- The event highlighted the growing intersection of advanced robotics, AI, and real-world physical competition.
Robots are fighting each other now—and they’re pretty good at it.
On Monday, the Chinese Media Group (CMG) World Robot Competition—Mecha Fighting Series took place in what was branded as the “first humanoid boxing match,” although the event was closer to a mixed martial arts competition.
Four robots faced off in a boxing ring controlled by ringside humans, in a surprisingly enjoyable display of cyborg athleticism.
Created by manufacturer Unitree, the competing robots were able to throw hooks, jabs, uppercuts, a knee, a range of kicks, and were agile enough to get up off the ground.
“I believe this is a moment where history shakes hands with the future. We are witnessing history,” the host of the event said, according to the English translator on CGTN.
After a quick warm-up round, the robot named Pink, after its headgear, fought against Black, named for the same reason.
Black was first to be knocked down, simply by throwing a leg kick and falling over—Pink cheekily tapped its butt in celebration—however, Black got up within a matter of seconds.
In round three, Black scored a major knockdown on Pink following a perfectly executed front kick. Soon after, Pink was knocked down for a second time, and Black fell on top of the robot. Black sprang back up, but Pink failed to do the same, leading to Black taking home the victory.
“His opponent threw his whole body weight on him,” a commentator said, explaining why Pink was unable to get back up.
Weirdly, Pink was announced the winner on the broadcast despite the knockout. The result was later rectified, and Black progressed to the final.
Advanced robotics
Unitree is a Chinese-based robotics company known as one of the pioneers of the advanced robotics movement. It was first known for its robotic dogs but has since established itself as the creator of top-quality humanoid robots.
In January, popular AI agent ElizaOS announced the Eliza Wakes Up project that will see the agent get a robot body. Its creators told Decrypt at the time that it will be using the Unitree H1 as the base for Eliza.
Eliza’s Unitree robot is explicitly not to be used for sex. This detail was stressed due to the announcement coming a week after a horny developer strapped the AI agent to a sex toy, allowing for erotic conversation with Eliza while using the toy
In February, Unitree started to showcase videos of its G1 model performing martial arts moves—including a 720 Kung Fu spin kick. By April, it had videos of the robot fighting humans and recovering from being knocked down.
Now, in late May, it appears it is the G1 model that is fighting in a robot-only martial arts competition.
After qualifying for the final by beating Pink, the Black robot won via decision against Green to win the entire event. With this, Black and its human controller received an invitation to the final of the CMG World Robot Competition.
Online spectators compared the first event of the series to the 2011 movie Real Steel, which saw large humanoid robots fight it out in the ring controlled by human operators.
Others have started to fantasize about the possibilities of the technology, with some claiming that the robots will soon be able to beat professional human fighters.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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