Top 8 Real-Life Illegal Fight Clubs!

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Martial Arts Unleashed

7 min readJan 6, 2020

Although illegal, the mystery behind illegal fight clubs has always been interesting to people. Have you ever thought about why these people take part in these illegal events in the first place? They won’t earn any money, become famous or get medical insurance. No, illegal fight clubs go against any logic, and to be honest, that’s what is special about it.

The truth is, primitive violence is a part of our nature and who we are. Admit it or not, a small part of our mind likes to watch brutal bare knuckle fights. And that’s normal to some extent.

As the famous movie “Fight Club” suggests, the first rule of any fight club is: “Don’t talk about it!” But, I don’t have the skills and guts to experience one, so I’ve to write about it. Let’s suppose I’ll at least enjoy the consequences!

In this article, we’re digging deep into the modern legal and illegal fight clubs across the world. Brace yourself, we are about to see some violent ones!

1. Fight Club Thailand

Thailand has always been a home of brutal fights and violence. Of course, we are talking about legal Muay Thai bouts on famous stadiums. Although there’s a ring on every corner, there are also plenty of illegal fight clubs. And these clubs are not doing much about keeping their activities secret. You can see them on the basketball fields, parking lots, and other public places.

The main goal of the FCT illegal club is very simple. People behind it want to bring Muay Thai fights on the city streets. And even though their events are illegal, there are some rules. Fighters are not allowed to strike the back of the head, and the weight difference can’t be over 5kg.

Each fighter must wear a pair of 4OZ MMA gloves and can use kicks, punches, elbows, and knees to strike. Grappling is not allowed. As one would expect, the fights are brutal, bloody, and the injury rate is really high. But the owner of this club believes he is doing a good job in reducing violence in the country:

“If youngsters, or people from all walks of life, need to do something wild, it’s best to have semi-controlled spaces where they can take on each other, and in the process, learn about combat arts”

The owners have been able to avoid legal issues. However, they’ve also managed to generate a massive amount of following all over the world. As a result, we may expect Thai officials to take a closer look at these events in the future.

2. Arrows Fight club

Arrows fight club is, perhaps, one of the most popular on this list, and some of us are regularly watching it. I mean, how not? When you spot some of their catchy titles like “Truck Driver Destroys two pro MMA fighters”, you just have to check it out. Although it looks barbaric, there is something interesting in their concept and matchups. For sure, it’s not as violent as the others on this list.

Everything about Arrows fight club is simple. The events are usually held in a park or any other outside spot big enough for a ring decked with sand. Anyone with or without fighting experience can come and fight.

A little warning: There are many upsets and the videos are very catchy. If you watch just one, we assure you’ll stay up all night exploring the fights between:

· TV presenter vs. MMA fighter

· Rugby player vs. Boxer

· Shop Manager vs. TV presenter

· Karate fighter vs. Muay Thai fighter

· Russian Soldier vs. Mexican MMA fighter

3. Rumble in the Bronx

The streets of the Bronx, New York, have always had a bad reputation. It is the home of many gangs, violence, and a lot of illegal fighting. One group of people has decided to capitalize on this bad social behavior by creating an illegal fight club. The final result of their idea was a boxing fight club called “Rumble in the Bronx”. We like the name, to be honest.

There’s not much info about this club. But from what we know, each event takes place at a different location. The audience receives the address just hours before fighting kicks off. This way the organizers keep the risk of police raids low.

The matches are really exciting and not that dangerous at first sight. Each night of fights includes 10 bouts and all fighters must wear a pair of boxing gloves. Next, each fight includes three rounds of action with each round being three minutes long. As in pro boxing, there’s no kicking, biting, or throwing punches below the belt. In some way, these are amateur boxing bouts and nothing more than that.

4. East Bay Rats

Leather jackets, long hairs, beer, and a smell of gasoline in the air? Oh yeah, you are in a Motorcycle club. Except for that “East Bay Rats” is not your regular club, it’s much more than that. It has a boxing ring in the backyard.

East Bay Rats comes from Oakland Us. They have been into illegal fighting for over two decades and are still doing it. The president of the club is Trevor Latham who says that people who take part in illegal fighting are regular people. In his words, these are the average people full of frustration looking to blow off the steam.

Fights at East Bay Rats are mostly boxing bouts. But unlike in some other illegal fight clubs, each fighter must wear a pair of gloves and a mouthguard.

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5. Holmgang Hamburg: Extreme Weapon Sparring

“Holmgang” is an illegal fight club that comes from Germany and is also spread all around Europe. It is very dangerous because the fights include medieval weapons and limited safety gear. An ideal mix for disaster if you ask us.

Things get even wilder when you see people swinging sharp swords with full power while only wearing T-shirts. It’s crazy how dangerous it is. Taking part in these fights could lead to serious injuries, deep cuts, or even death. We don’t know for sure if there have been any deaths, but we assume there were. How not? They don’t even wear a helmet for god’s sake. (Source)

6. Monster Fight Club

For most of us, a workout in the gym or long walks is often all we need to blow off the steam. Some people may need a bit more such as a couple of rounds of sparring in the boxing gym. But, a group of people from the UK has a quite different way of doing it. A bit more violent way I should say.

Just about every Friday, Monster Fight Club gathers stress out men to enter a steel cage to fight. This illegal club welcomes everyone from city workers, students, bouncers, and even businessmen. In case of being victorious, a fighter can cash out an “incredible” $53 prize. Now that’s what you call a deal! (Source)

7. Ronin Family Fight Club

It’s fair to say that “Ronin Family” is a Russian version of the previous “Monster Fight Club”, but a bit more violent one. Founded in 2008, the idea behind this illegal fight club is to gather businessmen and other rich people. The club gives them a chance to fight in bare knuckle slugfests without any rules in place. There are even knife fighting events we won’t spend much time talking about.

The weekly fee is $900. For this price, you get a chance to forget about economic crises or your company falling apart. The best thing about it is that you get a week of training for this money. But, these are not the regular training sessions. No, the so-called “coaches” will beat you up pretty bad for the entire week. As said by the owners themselves:

“Our ultimate mission is to transform the educated and urban people into the real man. We can achieve this by humiliating them and beating them down physically and psychologically.” (source)

8. B-Day Promotion

Yes, we know B-Day is a legal promotion and it probably doesn’t deserve a spot on our list. Yet, it has all the elements of an illegal fight club. Plus, for the majority of its history, B-day fight nights were illegal.

“It is a test of their own manhood, their destiny, and where they want to go in life. It is just a challenge of being a man.” — Source

In most cases, B-day events take place out of the city zone. Fighters compete inside the pit area surrounded by hay bales and there’s one referee. Each event also includes paramedics sitting beside. Fighters can throw only punches and they are not allowed to use kicks, eye pokes, or strike below the waist. Apart from deep cuts, fractures, and broken jaws, B-day is not as dangerous as you might think.

Despite the fact it’s a legalized combat sport, we can still see promoters matching an old man with the jacked young fighter and big differences in weight.

“It’s is the most gladiatorial form of combat that is still available for the normal person to go and see and I’m glad it’s a bit less underground now.” — Source