Watch Our Brutal New Series, ‘Spartan Bare Knuckle’

Spartan Bare Knuckle Fight Club is the UK’s only licensed 8x8ft bare-knuckle pit fighting syndicate. A kind of rolling mobile punch-up that draws baying crowds across the north of England, Spartan bouts are short, bloody, and brutal, and often end in knockouts.

Yet beneath the violence, the club aims to be a lifeline in difficult times. It was initially set up to try to decrease levels of knife crime, allowing disputes to be settled before they escalate, with one condition: you shake hands and the argument is left in the pit.

However, over seven years, Spartan’s scope has grown wider, and it’s become a form of community and therapy for men battling ill mental health and addiction as well as the lures of crime. In a new VICE series, Spartan Bare Knuckle, we followed the club and some of its key fighters in the build up to its main summer event, Fight Fest.

Our subscribers can watch all three parts of Spartan Bare Knuckle right now in our brand new Members Only section. (Part two is here, part three is here.)

If you haven’t signed up yet, don’t fret, you can still watch the first part at VICE’s YouTube channel or in the player below.