NEW: San Francisco’s robot fight club is getting increasingly unhinged.

Robot Entertainment Kombat (REK) has transformed a former mattress showroom on Van Ness Avenue into a permanent arena for humanoid robot cage fights. Founded in 2025 by VR entrepreneur Cix Liv, REK is part of a growing Bay Area robot combat scene, where Chinese-made humanoid robots are modified for battle.

The company has already run into trouble with California regulators. In September, a human-versus-robot cage match earned REK a cease-and-desist notice from the California State Athletic Commission over unlicensed combat. Liv argues that the rules don’t apply to robots.

Now, with plans for regular fight nights and an engineer dreaming up robots equipped with hydraulic claws and spinning saws, SF’s latest tech spectacle could get even wilder.

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