Nightclub Hosts Charming Kiddie Cage Matches

There’s beer, ring girls, and a rowdy crowd — it’s got all the hallmarks of your standard-issue cage match, with one slight difference: The fighters at this British nightclub haven’t hit puberty yet. And they cry.

The club owner and kids’ parents, of course, insist the kids are having a good time. And maybe they really are enjoying themselves; the little boy GMA spoke with said he liked “everything” about cage fighting. However, kids also like “everything” about eating paste and boogers and whatever other dumb stuff they are wont to do, because they are children, and children are typically not equipped with the sort judgment and foresight to anticipate the consequences and/or long-term impact — physical or psychological — of their adorably troublesome actions.

The problem isn’t necessarily that young kids are playing rough. In Australia, there’s an 8-year-old girl who kickboxes to much cluck-clucking and consternation, but she’s wearing lots of protective gear and is under close supervision by her father, who’s a professional kickboxing champ. She’s a kid playing a sport. She’s entertained and having fun. That’s why she’s doing it.

The boys in this video may be having fun (though it’s difficult to say), but they’re not in the ring for their own entertainment. They’re there because they are the entertainment. They’re just a bit too young to know it.