Robots are getting seriously athletic

Humanoid bots have already mastered martial arts choreography, outrun world record sprinters, danced, and fought each other. But one thing was missing: a human opponent.

First human takes on a robot

Robot company REK staged a match between one of its six-foot androids and TikTok influencer Frankie LaPenna. The heavily padded LaPenna got repeatedly kicked and thrown across the ring.

“For the first time in history, a human faces off against a six-foot-tall robot.”

But was it actually real?

LaPenna appeared to pull his punches and struggled to land any blows. Whether the robot could actually throw a person five meters with a single kick is also highly questionable.

“Is this just a showcase or did that robot legit yeet that dude five meters across the ring?”

LaPenna is a professional stunt guy

The 28-year-old influencer is known for comedic stunts like crashing a bike into a desk, jousting from a boat, and playing cards near a raging bull. He's willing to throw himself into anything for laughs.

Real MMA fighters would face different odds

An actual trained fighter might perform differently, but humans bruise easily while robots are made of metal and plastic. A genuine match would likely be heavily one-sided.