Well, it was just a matter of time before something like this happened. The world’s first human vs. robot MMA fight happened.
And, as one should probably expect, based on past reports, the MMA fight between the human and the Terminator-like T-800 robot saw the human get quickly floored.
As if we don’t have enough to worry about with robots running faster than Usain Bolt, joining police forces, begging on the streets, and throwing fits in restaurants, not to mention the many issues with artificial intelligence, now they are beating up humans for sport.
In our defense, the human in this MMA fight wasn’t a real fighter. It was Frankie Lapenna, an influencer slash TikToker. And the robot was developed by REK, a San Francisco-based tech company that hosts remote-controlled bot fights.
“World’s first human vs 6ft terminator robot fight. Is the end near? Or do we still stand a chance?” Lapenna wrote on social media.
In a brief video from the fight (mostly because the fight itself was brief), an announcer can be heard saying, “For the first time in history, a human faces off against a six-foot-tall robot.
Then, as Lapenna climbed into the ring, his coach admitted, “I’m scared for you, man.”
The fight did not go very well for the human
He should have been. The few punches Frankie Lapenna managed to land early had little effect on the robot, other than briefly disrupting its balance.
Following that little flurry, the “Rekbot” decided it had seen enough and landed multiple kicks, including a powerful roundhouse that sent Lapenna flying.
After the fight, Lapenna posted a picture of his swollen hand and said it had been fractured. That sort of thing happens when human flesh and bone meets metal.
“This was nothing out of the ordinary for me, it was just another regular work week for me. This robot fight doesn’t even rank in the top 5 most dangerous things I’ve done,” Lapenna told DailyMail.com.
REK told Daily Mail that Lapenna somehow prevailed in the fight, even though it seemed from the video that the bot had given him quite a beating, and the influencer later took on an even larger bot that night.
REK also wrote on social media after the bout on Monday night, “This wasn’t even the final boss… More coming soon.”
Thankfully, the “REKbot” wasn’t a fully autonomous machine. That, however, is certainly coming considering they have been able to learn how to do surgery by simply watching videos.