BRUTAL BLOODSPORT
Inside vicious world of bare-knuckle fighting as men trade blows in metal cages in front of screaming crowds
BRITAIN'S underground bare knuckle fighting scene has been revealed in gruesome detail.
Held in hay-lined makeshift cages, brawls explode in front of packed crowds who roar on blood-splattered fighters.
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Their goal is to knock their shirtless opponent unconscious or force a submission in often hard-to-watch gladiatorial-esque scenes.
Footage of the events - which are totally legal - see swollen-faced warriors split heads open as blood gushes from smashed eye-sockets.
Others see man mountains crashing to the floor in brutal knock-outs by mallet-fisted men who have often called each other out online.
One event in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, hosted by Bare Knuckle Street Fighting Brawls, saw over 100 spectators spend £40 each to watch 12 raging men settle ferocious scores.
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Organiser Derek Heggie told his events take hard nuts off the street and into a controlled environment.
He explained: "We're stopping what would be worse violence in some cases.
"We're 'fighters first' because of that, the fighters get looked after because I know what it takes to step in there and do it."
The event is attended by private medical teams who say the brawls are "above board" with the worst injuries being deep cuts and bruises.
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And even the police give the green light to the event which straddles a legal line between consensual violence and serious harm.
Despite this, one fighter was spotted storming out the ring after "biting" a man's ear twice in a blood-spilling battle.
Meanwhile fighters Brian Hollywood and Stenton Cornthwaite were seen battering each other in the neck and face during their fierce brawl.
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Bare knuckle boxing is one of Britain's oldest sports with the earliest reported fights dating back to 1641.
Recent years have seen the combat burst into the mainstream with a string of championships and associations emerging.
While some fights are held in seated venues, others are stripped back like last Saturday's event in Bridlington.
Fighters range from hardened street fighters to MMA black belters.
While others hail from families who boast a rich lineage of bare knuckle brawlers stretching back generations.
The savage encounters are filmed and uploaded to social media where adoring fans flock in their hundreds of thousands.
And it is here where organisers share 'call out' videos of fellow fighters provoking one another to a bout.
Once both agree to a fist-fight, they meet in a field and savage each other in an often gruesome toe-to-toe test of sheer brawn.
Incredibly, if both unprotected fighters are still standing after going the distance - which can be more than 20 minutes - they embrace as a mark of respect.
Speaking to YorkshireLive, co-organiser of the Bridlington run-in Andrew Smith added: "This is keeping violence out of the pubs.
"It is getting bigger and bigger each time we do it and people are responding to the message."
The Sun has approached various fighters for comment.
Chief Inspector Paul Bennett of Humberside Police told The Sun: "The event had already commenced when we were advised of it and had no prior knowledge of it taking place.
"Following local concerns about the activity we deployed local police officers, and the event organisers were spoken to.
"Our officers informed the event organiser of their legal obligations to comply with the Licensing Act.
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"Humberside Police will be working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to consider any breaches under the licensing act and to prevent any future unlicensed events.
"The event was monitored by police and no criminal offences were reported."
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