Exclusive | Fight Circus Brings Its Technicolour Mayhem to Las Vegas
Fight Circus is often described as the bombastic love child of WWE and UFC if it grew up in Thailand and was handed a tab of acid. That description might sound dramatic, but it is surprisingly accurate. Born in the chaos of the pandemic, Fight Circus became a beacon for every off beat combat sports idea you could dream of. It sparked a wave of imitators, including the now familiar clips from random corners of Russia. Carjitsu. The Wheel of Violence. Siamese boxing. Penalty boxing. Foot in the tyre boxing. Blindfold boxing. You get the idea.
Gabi Garcia, Mayhem Miller and Mix Master Mike headlined a card loaded with surprise cameos
Fight Circus
Most fans have seen at least one Fight Circus clip by now. Blobtang smoking a cigarette to crown his now iconic walkout. Jon Nutt fighting two men in suits known as Bank and No Money. Moments that broke the internet and turned the promotion into a cult phenomenon.
Fight Circus celebrates being a total shit show in the best possible way. It invites fans to expect the unexpected and embraces entertainment at full volume. I recently covered their American debut at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. It was a two night spectacle that drew a surprising amount of MMA media firepower. Ariel Helwani was there filming a documentary for his channel. John Morgan, the man who asked the first question at countless UFC pressers, was ringside. When the hardcores show up for organised chaos, something interesting is happening.
The card delivered everything the fans came for. Charles “Felony” Bennett faced viral sensation Death Sentence from Street Beefs. Oscar Willis from the Mac Life went beer boxing with bare knuckle fighter Mark The Shark Irwin. UFC veterans Alex Caceres and Marcus McGee met in a human cockfighting bout. Then came the shock of the night. Two masked Labubus started brawling until they revealed themselves to be Gabi Garcia and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. The crowd erupted.
All of this unfolded in an environment that felt completely unhinged. Exotic dancers on the walkway. Little people taking part in skits. Unpredictable interruptions from every corner of the room. And at the centre of it all was Jon Nutt, the ringmaster with limitless energy and zero hesitation. With Nutt, there is always the possibility he will stop hosting and step into a fight. Earlier this year he boxed UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in wheelchairs. Matt Brown fought Blobtang in Thailand. Anything can happen and usually does.
Blobtang deserves special mention. Part folk hero, part outlaw character, part viral magnet. As Nutt told me, “Two guys that were just over there came over and they were like we’ve never seen anything like it. Like the WWE of Muay Thai.” When I asked if you can ever replicate a Blobtang, Nutt laughed. “You don’t. You find them in a fishing village in northern Thailand. You gotta go to Sriracha where they still do net fishing.”
Blobtang’s walkouts alone could headline a card. The man should have merchandise, fishing rods, cigarette endorsements, the whole thing. They even caught a fine for one of his Marlboro inspired entrances.
For Nutt, the Las Vegas double header felt like a landmark. “The first night felt like a trial run. The second night felt like a play,” he said. “For a Vegas show to come to Vegas, do back to back nights, and have both of them be successful, we got compliments among both of them.”
When asked what he enjoys most about running Fight Circus, he said, “Hanging out with my friends and doing creative shit like this. In weird places to make new experiences.”
Fighters feel the same. Jonny Tello, the number one ranked foot in the tyre boxer on the planet, summed it up in two words. “Fight Circus.”
Looking ahead, the promotion has several dates lined up in Phuket to cap the year off, with another U.S. show set for Q1. If anything will elevate Fight Circus further, it might be adding a little more jeopardy and a little more violence to sharpen the formula.
When Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent start sharing your clips, the covid era’s dirty little secret has clearly morphed into something far bigger, brighter, and stranger. Complete with an army of little people.
To quote Jon Nutt one last time: “Just join the circus.”
