REK controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2026
California State Athletic Commission sends cease-and-desist letter to Rek over human vs. robot fight
Ban or restriction
The California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rek, the startup behind what it calls the 'humanoid robot fighting league', after Rek hosted an unsanctioned September 18 match in which a human, Frankie LaPenna, fought a humanoid robot owned by the startup that was being piloted by a human using what the NYT described as a 'remote virtual-reality system'. The letter, which Rek CEO Cix Liv posted to X on September 30, called the fight 'unsanctioned' and demanded that Liv and REK stop 'holding, promoting or advertising any boxing or mixed martial arts contest match, or exhibition, involving any human' in California without the approval of the California State Athletic Commission.
Source excerpt
The state says Rek, the ‘humanoid robot fighting league,’ can’t host fights involving ‘any human’ in California without permission.
The CEO of Rek, Cix Liv, posted the letter to X on September 30th, which called the fight “unsanctioned” and demanded that Liv and REK stop “holding, promoting or advertising any boxing or mixed martial arts contest match, or exhibition, involving any human” in California without the approval of the California State Athletic Commission.