Being an avid follower of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is not a mandate for reading this article. You must have heard about the term “Martial Arts”? What was originally considered as a way-of-fitness was made into a sport where trained Martial artists were pitted against one other in a 1-1 match. If this sport seem too violent, behold! For a sport called “Arena combat” is a notch further as it involves a 5-5 match. Yes, you read that right!

As per Vice, this form of MMA was started by an organization based in Latvia called “Team Fighting Championship” or TFC, although there are different opinions on where this new MMA actually originated from with some claiming Russia and others saying Poland.

What’s different about TFC?

Against the conventional 1-1 fight, TFC involves two teams with 5 members who get ready to fight inside a 40-by-40 ring. The teams that are currently a part of this sport belong to Brazil, Poland, Russia, Latvia, and US. There are 5 referees that are present inside the ring as opposed to just one in a conventional, more regular 1-1 fight. As the fight begins, the common concept of one person taking on one other person from the other team is pretty basic. However, a twist or realistically, a dangerous twist, ensues when one person from a team goes down. That means, the team that has all its fighters standing can actually take on the other team so it shapes up as a 5-4 fight.

What is similar in TFC?

TFC has rules. People have come out in support of this lethal sport by saying that it’s not an all out warzone where the fighters are driven to kill each other. The rules in TFC are similar to the one implemented in Japan’s Pride Fighting Championship that was inaugurated in 1997.

What are the rules in Team Fighting Championship?

Following are the rules in Team Fighting Championship-

1. The combined weight of each team’s five members must be 550 kilos, or around 1,212 pounds.
2. Fighters are allowed face-stomping and they can kick an opponent who is down on the ground.
3. There is no time limit. The fight ends when there is a last man standing inside the ring.
4. Teams can bring up to 10 fighters with them. Out of those, 5 make it into the ring whereas the remaining 5 serve as substitute in case someone gets injured.
5. The bout is held in an empty, audience-free 30,000-square foot arena, inside a 40-by-40 ring.

Why is it considered dangerous?

During a fight, there is an existing probability of the event turning into a 5-1 sport, which means that 5 fighters will start pounding on a lone person from the other team. Even though head-butts, spitting, kicks in the groin, biting, and blows to the Adam’s apple are all banned, yet the extent of injuries just by the presence of sheer amount of martial artists inside the ring, who are knocking the opponents down, are considered grave. According to ibtimes, the fights have been so brutal that many competitors are left bleeding or unconscious. A team member can also help out his other team member by sneaking up on his competitor and choking him into unconsciousness.

Below is a video of the final fight of TFC Event 1 LPH (Poznan, Poland) vs JungVolk (Moscow, Russia).

As per a Vice article dated May’15, United States, till then, was yet to provide permission to TFC for entering into the US soil.

[sources: 1, 2]