Humanoid robots compete in a freestyle fighting match at the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on August 26, 2026. Photo: Li Hao/GT

A straight punch lands, sending two humanoid robots into a close-range clash. Nearby, another loses its balance mid-turn, falls to the mat, then gets back on its feet. At the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games, punches, kicks, collisions and falls in the freestyle fighting ring drew bursts of cheers from the crowd.

It may look like a real-life version of Street Fighter, but the ring tests far more than whether robots can throw a punch. It tests whether they can stay balanced, adapt and keep moving in an unpredictable physical environment.

This year, freestyle fighting was elevated from a demonstration event to an official competition, featuring three two-minute rounds across the 40kg, 58kg and 80kg weight classes. The scoring system closely mirrors that of human combat sports: effective strikes earn one point, sweeping techniques or high-difficulty kicks score three, and a knockdown is worth six points if the opponent gets back up within 10 seconds - failure to do so means in the loss of the round.

A volunteer told the Global Times that bouts typically saw each team scoring around 10 points per round, meaning robots had to land multiple effective strikes and usually execute at least one higher-scoring maneuver, such as a sweeping kick.

In the 58kg category, the GoGo team, jointly formed by the Shanghai Theatre Academy and AgiBot, claimed the title.

"It's completely different from a game like Street Fighter," team member Mao Jingwen told the Global Times. The robot learned punches, movement and turns through extensive motion-capture data and training, but in the ring, its condition, distance from the opponent and even the environment could affect how each move played out.

Rather than chasing flashy moves, team GoGo focused on the basics. "Facing the opponent accurately and landing a clean hit are what really matter," Mao said.

The Peking University team brought real-world boxing experience into the robot ring. Operator Wanxuan Lin, himself a boxer, told the Global Times that while controlling a robot still requires practice, but judging distance, timing and an opponent's positioning shares much in common with human boxing. The team's technical lead summed up their advantage as "a combination of real-world fighting experience and an understanding of robotics algorithms."

Humanoid robots compete in a freestyle fighting match at the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on August 26, 2026. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Another Peking University team member, Liu Yiliang, told the Global Times that humanoid robots are already capable of serving as boxing sparring partners to some extent. The bigger obstacle to direct human-robot bouts, he said, is safety.

Unlike the human body, robots are largely built from rigid materials, meaning even a robot of similar weight can deliver significant impact. Teaching robots to interact safely with humans while retaining their strength and mobility will therefore be a key challenge before human-robot sparring can become practical, he said.

Notably, the Global Times observed that several teams competing in the 58kg category partnered with AgiBot and used its Expedition A3 humanoid robot. Despite sharing the same robot platform, the teams adopted different fighting styles, turning the ring into a testing ground for hardware performance, human-robot coordination and strategy.

A member of the University of Science and Technology Beijing-AgiBot joint team told the Global Times that the biggest difference between a physical robot and a video game lies in the unpredictability of the real world.

"With a physical robot, it's completely different," he said. In a video game, pressing the same button usually triggers the same move. But in the ring, battery levels, the robot's condition, its opponent and even the environment can affect how a move plays out. "It may not always produce the result we expect."

Chen Jing, a vice president of the Technology and Strategy Research Institute, told the Global Times that, compared with standardized and repeatable tests in laboratories, freestyle fighting puts robots in a highly dynamic environment where an opponent's position, collisions and the robot's own condition are constantly changing. Such contests can more readily expose weaknesses in motion control, resistance to disturbances and balance recovery.

 "The point is not to train robots how to 'fight,' but rather to use an extreme, dynamic environment to test whether they can maintain stability and continue performing tasks after being disturbed or even struck," Chen said. Such capabilities could eventually be applied in complex settings including manufacturing, logistics and emergency rescue.

Chen noted that universities are also experimenting with algorithms, operation and applications on general-purpose humanoid platforms supplied by Chinese companies, pointing to a broader ecosystem involving robot makers, universities and developers. China's manufacturing supply chain, growing range of humanoid platforms and wealth of application scenarios allow technical problems to be identified, tested and addressed more quickly, he said.

However, Chen noted that the robots are not yet fully autonomous, which remains a major limitation. While pre-programmed combinations can be impressive and human-robot coordination is improving, he said that truly autonomous freestyle fighting - without human control - is still some way off.