Underground Fight Clubs as Extremist Fronts: The Telegram Connection
In 2023, Bloomberg Businessweek published an investigation that pulled back the curtain on a troubling intersection: white nationalist groups in the United States and Europe were using underground fight clubs as recruitment and radicalization tools. Yahoo News, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Anti-Defamation League followed with their own reporting, revealing a network of so-called "Active Clubs" that used combat training as a gateway to extremist ideology.
This is not a story about legitimate combat sports organizations like BKFC or Streetbeefs. It is a story about how the aesthetic and appeal of fighting has been co-opted by groups with explicitly violent political agendas.
What Are Active Clubs?
The Rise Network
Active Clubs are decentralized fitness and fighting groups associated with the Rise Above Movement (RAM) and its successor networks. Founded by Robert Rundo, who was convicted of federal charges related to violence at political rallies, the Active Club model encourages small cells of young men to train in combat sports, build physical fitness, and embrace white nationalist ideology.
The model is deliberately structured to appear legitimate:
- Public-facing: Groups present themselves as fitness clubs or martial arts training groups
- Decentralized: No formal membership rolls or hierarchical leadership
- Combat-focused: Regular sparring sessions, boxing training, and MMA drilling
- Ideologically driven: Training is framed as preparation for racial conflict
How Many Exist
According to the SPLC, Active Clubs have been identified in at least 47 states as of 2025. Most are small -- five to fifteen members -- but the network effect across Telegram channels creates a movement that is larger than any individual cell.
The Telegram Infrastructure
Why Telegram
Telegram has become the primary communication platform for Active Clubs for several reasons:
| Feature | Why Extremists Use It |
|---|---|
| Encrypted channels | Messages are difficult for law enforcement to intercept |
| Large group capacity | Channels can reach thousands of subscribers |
| Minimal moderation | Telegram has historically been slow to remove extremist content |
| Media sharing | Fight videos, training clips, and propaganda distribute easily |
| Anonymity | Users can operate without revealing identity |
Content and Recruitment
Active Club Telegram channels typically share:
- Training videos showing members sparring and drilling
- Propaganda linking physical fitness to racial ideology
- Event coordination for meetups and group training
- Cross-promotion with other extremist channels
- "Fight night" footage from private events
The content is designed to appeal to young men already interested in combat sports and fitness, creating an on-ramp from legitimate interests to extremist ideology.
Distinguishing Extremist Clubs from Legitimate Organizations
This is a critical distinction that mainstream media coverage sometimes fails to make. The vast majority of underground and unsanctioned fighting organizations have nothing to do with extremism. Organizations like Streetbeefs were founded specifically to reduce community violence by providing a structured, refereed alternative to street fighting.
Key Differences
Legitimate organizations:
- Open membership regardless of race or background
- Public-facing with social media presence
- Safety protocols including referees and medical awareness
- No political ideology required for participation
- Entertainment and competition as primary goals
Extremist fight clubs:
- Racially exclusive membership
- Secretive operations on encrypted platforms
- Combat training framed as ideological preparation
- Political radicalization as a core objective
- Violence against perceived enemies as an explicit goal
Law Enforcement Response
Federal law enforcement has increasingly targeted Active Clubs and similar organizations. Key actions include:
- Robert Rundo's arrest and conviction on federal riot charges
- FBI monitoring of Telegram channels associated with Active Clubs
- State-level investigations into groups organizing unsanctioned fighting events as covers for extremist activity
- International cooperation with European law enforcement tracking cross-border networks
However, the decentralized nature of Active Clubs makes comprehensive enforcement difficult. When one cell is disrupted, others continue operating independently.
The European Connection
Active Clubs are not exclusively American. Similar groups operate across Europe, with particularly strong networks in:
- Germany: Where combat sports training camps have been linked to neo-Nazi organizations
- Scandinavia: Where the Nordic Resistance Movement has incorporated fight training
- United Kingdom: Where football hooligan networks overlap with far-right fight clubs
- Eastern Europe: Where ultranationalist groups have long used combat sports for recruitment
The cross-pollination between American and European extremist fight networks happens primarily through Telegram and other encrypted platforms.
Impact on Combat Sports
The existence of extremist fight clubs creates challenges for the broader combat sports community:
- Stigmatization: Legitimate underground fighting organizations face guilt by association
- Regulatory pressure: Lawmakers may cite extremist fight clubs when arguing for broader regulation of unsanctioned fighting
- Platform risk: Social media platforms may restrict combat sports content to combat extremist recruitment
- Community trust: Local communities may resist legitimate fighting events due to extremist associations
What Combat Sports Organizations Can Do
Legitimate organizations can distinguish themselves from extremist groups by:
- Maintaining open, inclusive membership policies
- Operating transparently with public events and social media
- Implementing codes of conduct that explicitly reject extremism
- Cooperating with law enforcement when approached about suspicious activity
- Building diverse rosters that reflect the inclusive nature of combat sports
The overwhelming majority of people involved in combat sports -- from backyard fighting to professional bare knuckle boxing -- are motivated by competition, camaraderie, and personal challenge. The extremist co-option of fight culture represents a small but dangerous minority that the community has both the ability and the responsibility to reject.