China hosts world’s first humanoid robot kickboxing match
The future of combat sports just got cooler! China hosted its first ever humanoid robot kickboxing match!
In a groundbreaking display of tech, muscle, and machine learning, China just hosted the world’s first-ever humanoid robot kickboxing match.
Yup, actual humanoid robots throwing punches and kicks in a real tournament. The future has officially entered the chat.
The event was part of the China Media Group (CMG) World Robot Competition - Mecha Fighting Series, held in Hangzhou on May 25.
The stars of the show were Four Unitree G1 robots, each weighing about 35 kilograms and standing 132 centimeters tall.
Think of them as pocket-sized terminators… without the deadly intentions (for now).
Each fight had two stages.
A movement challenge where robots performed various actions to show off their flexibility. Followed by three rounds of combat, each lasting two minutes.
Scoring was simple. A punch to the head or body is one point. A kick is three points. If a bot falls over, they lose five points. If they can’t get up in eight seconds, they lose 10 points and the round’s over.
Spoiler alert: The punches were more gentle shoves than knockout blows, and the kicks could probably be survived by a toddler, but hey; it’s the first of its kind!
Check out some of the footage:
According to Wang Qixin from Unitree, the robots learned their moves by mimicking real kickboxers.
Their movements were captured, fed into AI systems, and then the robots trained in virtual simulations before stepping into the real ring. Basically, a digital dojo.
Li Gaofeng, a researcher from Zhejiang University, called this a major leap for China’s robotics sector.
Just six months ago, robots struggling to keep their balance after a kick was normal. Now they’re dodging, reacting, and throwing combos (sort of).
Robot fighting isn’t just for show either. It’s pushing advancements in AI, mechanical engineering, and robotics control systems.
Industry pros believe this type of event will fast-track robot development for everything from factories to future rescue missions.
EngineAI, a Shenzhen-based robotics company, is already planning a large-scale humanoid robot combat event this December.
Bigger, better, and probably still hilariously clumsy.
We’re literally witnessing the birth of a new kind of sport. It’s part esports, part MMA, part sci-fi fever dream.
The scary part is it’s only going to get wilder from here.
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