From Sci-Fi to showdown: Humanoid robot fighters take the ring

The bell rings. A red-gloved robot lunges forward, throwing a jab. Across the ring, a black-gloved machine counters with a spinning kick. The crowd roars.

No, this isn't a scene from the Hollywood sci-fi film Real Steel. It's not 2050. It's not a video game.

It's Hangzhou, China. 2025. And robot combat is no longer fiction.

At the CMG World Robot Competition Series, spectators witnessed China's first humanoid robot combat showdown. In a ring pulsing with lights and roaring commentary, four human-controlled machines threw punches, took hits, and even collapsed in full-contact brawls.

"I didn't expect robot fights to be this intense and exciting," one amazed viewer commented during the livestream by China Central Television Sunday night.

The event – equally spectacle and science – was designed to test the capabilities of humanoid machines built not for movies, but for real-world work.

The stars of the ring were four Unitree G1 humanoid robots, each standing about 1.3 meters tall and weighing 35 kilograms.

Wearing red, pink, green, and black headgear, they squared off in a format reminiscent of traditional boxing: three two-minute rounds, a point system for punches and kicks, and penalties for falling or failing to stand.

But make no mistake – this wasn't a pre-programmed stunt. Each robot was manually operated in real-time using voice, motion-sensing, and remote controls by a human pilot standing ringside.

Shouts like "Left punch! Right punch!" echoed through the broadcast feed as machines responded instantly with mechanical precision.

The crowd favorite, a robot dubbed "AI Strategist" and piloted by operator Lu Xin, outmaneuvered its opponents and took home the tournament title of "Fighting Star."

Beyond the ring

While the punches looked playful, the stakes were serious.

According to Unitree Robotics, the company behind the G1, training these bots to fight required more than strong motors and flashy armor.

"Teaching robots to fight like this isn't easy," said board director Wang Qixin during the CCTV live broadcast. "We use AI combined with motion capture data from professional fighters so the robots can learn virtually before stepping into real-life scenarios."

Unlike robots designed for marathons or warehouse work, fighting bots need to react in milliseconds, absorb physical shocks, and maintain balance through unpredictable, high-impact collisions. It's a different class of engineering – one where performance in combat could inform the next generation of industrial, service, and even disaster-response robots.

The goal, a Unitree staffer explained, wasn't just to entertain. "If robots are to take part in daily life, they must first learn how to move in human environments," Hangzhou-based Metropolis Express quoted him as saying on Sunday.

Some online skeptics dismissed the match as a "fancy remote-control toy fight." But experts say it goes much deeper.

"These aren't RC cars with arms," said an engineer from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. "They're running AI models that process real-time sensor data to adjust for force feedback, body control, and reaction timing," according to Securities Times.

This tournament showed the real future of human-robot collaboration, Li Gaofeng,a robotics researcher at Zhejiang University was quoted by the newspaper. "It's not just about the robot's skills, but how humans can work alongside them, making split-second tactical decisions together."

"Compared to six months ago, a year ago, or a few years back, it was hard to imagine robots moving this smoothly. So I see this as real progress in the technology," Li added.

Hangzhou's robot bout wasn't an isolated show. It's part of a broader surge in humanoid robotics that has seen the industry explode from science fiction into boardrooms and factories.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global humanoid robot market is projected to skyrocket from US$3.28 billion in 2024 to US$66 billion by 2032, with a staggering 45.5 percent annual growth rate – more than double that of traditional industrial robots.

Chinese analysts from Minsheng Securities see 2025 as a turning point, with global shipments expected to reach tens of thousands. Giants like Tesla, with its Optimus robot, and China's Unitree, Agibot, and Fourier Intelligence are already preparing for mass production.

Since 2022, the humanoid robot sector has also attracted strong interest in capital markets. In early 2025, Elon Musk updated the shipment forecast for Tesla's Optimus robot, projecting 500,000 to 1 million units by 2027.

As sci-fi movies like Real Steel fades into history, the question now is no longer "when," but what's next.