A cage-fighting ring (a mini octagon?) is one of the last places you'd expect to see an eight-year-old.
Video footage found online showing British kids as young as eight participating in mixed martial arts bouts has medical experts concerned.
The 14-minute long video shows a bout featuring kids grappling and putting painful submission holds and limb locks on each other.
The crowd can be heard cheering on the kids and two announcers can be heard commenting on the fight.
The event was held at the Greenlands Labour Club in Preston, Lancashire. Michelle Anderson, the owner of the club, defended the mixed-martial-arts fight to the Daily Telegraph.
“The kids were there to fight, they have fought before. The parents were there. Would people rather these kids were out on the streets with guns and knives?,” Anderson said to the newspaper.
Steven Nightingale, a fighter and event organizer, defended the fight saying that rules were in place to protect the kids.
"The kids are not getting hit or anything at all when they are under age. We do not let them strike - punch and kick - until the age of 14 or 15," Nightingale told the Daily Mail. He also mentioned that competitions start as early as age five.
The U.K. isn't the only place where kids have been participating in mixed martial arts competitions. In the U.S. kids have been participating in mixed martial arts bouts but with more padding, head protection and regulations than seen in the U.K. fights.
SEE VIDEO OF THE FIGHT: