AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from The Verge, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

---

The California State Athletic Commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to Rek, a startup that hosted a human versus robot fight on September 18th. The state claims the event violated rules against matches involving humans without permission. Frankie LaPenna fought a humanoid robot piloted remotely by a human via a virtual-reality system.

Rek’s CEO, Cix Liv, posted the letter on X on September 30th, calling the bout "unsanctioned." He stated that Rek cannot hold or promote any contest involving humans in California without approval from the commission. The company describes itself as the "humanoid robot fighting league" and noted the robot used a Terminator-like head design.

Rek plans its next match for this Friday, featuring two robots with weapons fighting each other. This upcoming event will not involve any human participants.