Robotics startup has real human vs. robot cage match, California responds with cease-and-desist order

A robotics startup just received a cease-and-desist letter from the state of California after it hosted a human vs. robot fight in San Francisco. REK founder and CEO Cix Liv shared the document on social media, with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) telling the company to stop holding, promoting, or sponsoring these unsanctioned fights and that organizing them without a license is a misdemeanor. You can see the video of the fight that prompted the order by expanding the tweet below.

The cease-and-desist refers to the human vs. humanoid cage fight that the company sponsored on Sep. 18, 2026, where YouTuber Frankie LaPenna entered a fighting cage and faced off with three different robots. Now, it’s unclear if this was a sporting contest or a promotional stunt, but it was clearly used to give the REK robot fighting platform more publicity. After all, REK has been advertising its events as “Real pilots, real punches. …