Children fight MMA in China (Photo: Pear Video Reproduction)
Authorities in China are investigating a gym in Chedgu, Sichuan province for child abuse. Children were being adopted and made to fight each other without any type of protection in fights with tickets sold. The profit obtained would all go to Enbo MMA Club and would not be passed on to the orphans. If any of them don't show talent or refuse to fight, they may even be sent back. The information was brought to light by a documentary produced by Pear Media.
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One of the videos shows two 12-year-old boys fighting in a cage and one of them being crowned champion. Shortly after, the image cuts to a trainer lining up teenagers in the gym and telling them that they don't have good fighting rhythm. Afterwards, one of the little athletes says that his main idol is the UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor.
According to the local newspaper “South China Morning Post”, the founder of the academy says that the objective is simply to get children out of crime. It is estimated that there are 60 million orphans in China. Enbo, after whom the academy is named, is a former police officer and founded the club in 2001. He adopts the children legally and reportedly tried to prove this to the Chinese police.
A provincial education authority declared that the Enbo MMA Club commercially exploits children and forces them to fight, in addition to charging admission fees and not adequately passing on profits from fights.
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