A special release of Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition arrives on Blu-ray Disc November 17 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, and in honor of the classic bloody-knuckle mindbender flick, we've put together a look at the history of underground fight clubs.
In one of a thousand videos just like it, footage shows a dimly lit back-room arena where two bare-knuckled sluggers pummel one another before a savagely enthusiastic crowd. No, it's not a poorly-shot bootleg of the cult smash Fight Club from a decade ago; this is a real-life club where people risk blood, bone and criminal charges in the name of unhinged displays of raw power and aggression.
Having both inspired the 1999 hit Brad Pitt/Edward Norton film and been emboldened by it, underground/garage fight clubs have been springing up by the dozens all over the world, offering participants a playground for unleashing their inner ultimate fighter. New York's Underground Combat League (UCL) has been around for several years, and many just like it continue to pop up in the strangest of locations - and with the unlikeliest of participants. Chase Leavitt, son of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, was arrested for participating in a fight club at a Mormon church gym in Salt Lake City in December 2001. At the time, his father was governor of Utah.
Despite their depiction on film, most fight-club brawlers are suburban high school teens gathering in parking lots, garages, basements, city parks and abandoned lots, not men in their twenties engaged in schizophrenic existential crises scripted by one of the most twisted and brilliant authors alive today (Chuck Palahniuk). Gang members and juvenile criminals - the typical stereotype for violent behavior - play a minor role if any in underground fight clubs as well.
Many participants are disillusioned by the idea that these clubs are helping them prepare for Ultimate Fighting Championships and other MMA sports, a dangerous concept when one considers the amount of training, discipline and dedication such sports require from their players. While certainly providing a crash course in hand-to-hand combat, these underground fights are no way to prepare oneself for an organized UFC or other MMA fight.
Condemned as savage, callously aggressive, devoid of morality and worse, these illegal clubs and their participants face a litany of charges if the law catches them in the act - a feat made much easier through fan video footage with handheld cameras or cellphones, which are uploaded to YouTube, MySpace and the rest. Various felony and misdemeanor charges can result, including public disturbance, organized crime, criminal mischief and the real doozy - aggravated assault.
Who determines if and when a fighter requires medical attention? There are few if any regulations to protect the fighter's safety, and more serious criminal charges are a strong possibility when a serious injury occurs. On several videos found online, fighters can be seen getting beaten until their bones are broken, until they're convulsing and barely breathing, and so on.
Nevertheless, the demand for underground fight clubs is as high as ever, with national unemployment skyrocketing and public unease spiking in recent years. If the paying customers are out there, fight organizers will find a way to bring them in. But for many, money has nothing to do with it. For them, the thrill of the fight - as well as the risk of getting caught - is all the draw they need.
