Ever heard of competitive knight fighting? No? Me neither, but if the knockout in this video’s anything to go by then it could be the most brutal sport invented since Murder Ball.
Imagine if MMA and Live Action Role-Play had a baby, then you’d have a pretty decent idea as to what ‘Knight Fighting’ is, minus fake wizards throwing bean bags at each other or Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor throwing cans of energy drink at one another, of course.
In a ‘Knight Fight’, big hard blokes strap on chain-mail, plate armour and their best tabard then go at it in an octagon armed with swords and shields, in a pugilistic display that’d get George R.R. Martin so excited he’d finally get round to finishing The Winds of Winter… maybe.
The sport is run by M-1 Global and initially began as filler during their MMA events but the response was so positive that they committed to featuring more of these ‘historic’ battles, MMA Fighting reports.
It’s called M-1 Medieval, and according to M-1 president Vadim Finkelchtein, fans seemed to really like it and were especially impressed by the knights. So, he decided to continue the events.
He explained:
At that time, the knight fight was to fill the pause between the undercard and main card fights. If we find enough fighters to make enough fights, we will have a separate medieval show with its own weight categories, title fights and champions.
YouTube
Finkelchtein puts the sport’s popularity down to its similarities to MMA in that the rules are vaguely the same – you can punch, strike and wrestle, as well as use your sword and shield, so it’s all very exciting.
That said, as exciting as the sport is, knockouts are actually extremely rare given that the fighters are wearing a literal shit tonne of armour.
Maybe Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, aka The Mountain, could take up the sport when Game of Thrones is done?
… or not.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.