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. Humanoid robots in brutal, full-contact combat,” and even offers private events with robots facing off in three rounds. Aside from that, a robot is already dangerous as it is, so a human facing off with one raises countless safety concerns and ethical issues. You can read the full order by expanding the tweet below.

REK is proof of life imitating art, as we’ve already seen something similar in the movie Real Steel, with Hugh Jackman’s character and his son training a discarded humanoid boxing robot, allowing it to rise through the ranks and challenge the reigning champion in a classic underdog plot intertwined with a father-and-son story. While there’s no indication that Liv was inspired by the 2011 Hollywood film, the similarity of their concepts is quite uncanny. We’ve also seen another robot startup following into the footsteps of Hollywood after it decommissioned its old robots “Terminator-style” by making them jump into a vat of molten steel.

If you’re interested in seeing these matches, REK has listed its past events on its website, where you can watch some of their replays on YouTube. The company hosts live events, although we don’t have a schedule for the remainder of the year yet; those who want to see them in the metal without waiting for a match can sponsor a private event, which starts at a cool $10,000. But if you’re interested in piloting one of these fighting robots, you can download the company’s official Real Robot Simulator, which is available on Steam and Meta Quest. Those who reach the Pro level and qualify could even get to pilot the real thing in a live event.

Regardless of whether the LaPenna vs. robot fight was a legitimate combat sports event or a promotional showcase, it just made sense for CSAC to step in. After all, the state agency regulates combat sports where at least one party is a human to ensure fairness and enforce safety, especially with lives involved. But with the way the cease-and-desist was worded, it looks as though CSAC would not have intervened if the September 18 fight had just been between robots.

The Cease and Desist Order

“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that you and each of you are hereby ordered to cease and desist from: (1) holding, promoting, or advertising any boxing or mixed martial arts contest match, or exhibition, involving any human in the State of California without the prior approval of the California State Athletic Commission, or (2) engaging in the promotion of, or participation in, a boxing or martial arts contest, match, or exhibition involving any human without a license pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 18640,” CSAC said in its letter. “PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that Business and Professions Code section 18870 and 18878 make it a misdemeanor for a person or promoter who is required to be license by the State Athletic Commission to directly or indirectly hold, aid or abet, or attempt to hold, aid, or abet the holding of, any contest, match, or exhibition without having first obtained a license or permit therefor from the State Athletic Commission or to otherwise violate any provision of the State Athletic Commission Act.”

Figure, a U.S.-based robotics company, decommissioned its old AI robots by making them jump into a 75-ton furnace full of molten steel. According to the company, maintaining its F.02 fleet no longer made sense as its next-generation F.03 is increasing in numbers. However, it said that disassembling its older robots is difficult and time-consuming — they can’t just pass it off to another third party because it contained a lot of proprietary technology, while assigning an internal team to do it would take people off other important projects like the F.04 model that’s in development.

Company CEO Brett Adcock went on to X to help solve this conundrum, asking the social media platform for ideas for “a proper sendoff.” This is where he got an unexpected reply from the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger — “You should melt them.” And they did, as you can see in the video below.

This started an epic journey, from the Figure team training its robots to jump from the second story of its office building onto an airbag, to finding a foundry willing to accept robots with lithium batteries being dumped into a molten vat of steel. While some may think that jumping off a ledge into a vat of molten steel is an easy thing to do, it actually requires some precision, with the company even referencing stunt artists for the movement.

They eventually found a site in Finland willing to accept the robots, which gave them 24 hours and six melts to complete the process. The decommissioning spectacle turned out to be a complete success, with the F.02 AI robots functioning as intended up to the last moment, despite the extreme heat generated by the molten steel and electromagnetic fields generated by the high-voltage electricity that flowed through the three giant graphite electrodes. The resulting metal bars were eventually taken back to the U.S. and have been machined into limited-edition memorabilia commemorating the F.02.

Most of the F.02 fleet has already been melted down and recycled, with only a few remaining in storage at the company’s headquarters. This should give Figure more space for newer robot models without having to worry about its proprietary technology falling into the hands of the competition. The decommissioning process has also given us a real-life Terminator-style ending, with one F.02 robot even filmed holding a thumbs-up sign as it sinks into molten metal. Let’s just hope that we don’t get a Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines sequel to this wild ending for the F.02.